$1.7M raised in cancer fight
Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill + Bar restaurants nationwide raised a record $1.7 million for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation in a monthlong fundraising campaign this summer. A partner in the fight against pediatric cancer for the 12th consecutive year, local Applebee’s
franchisee Apple American Group, raised more than $1.13 million across its 460 restaurants. To date, Apple American Group has raised more than $7 million for the foundation to help fund childhood cancer research and awareness.
Locally, Applebee’s restaurants’ fundraising efforts included selling lemon-shaped pinup cards in $1 and $5 increments, as well as donating a portion of the proceeds from every Lemonade Quencher beverage or other flavored lemonade refreshment purchased.
The events contributed to the grand fundraising total of $1,130,283 — an increase of 45 percent over 2017’s fundraising total.
“We are incredibly proud to continue our support of Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation,” said Angela Bettis, Regional Marketing Coordinator, Apple American Group. “Pediatric cancer research is vastly and consistently underfunded, and when a single child is diagnosed with cancer, it touches their entire community. In each of our Applebee’s restaurants, we are committed to making a
positive impact on our local neighborhoods and it starts with healthy families.”
Applebee’s restaurants have built lemonade stands to raise money for the Foundation since its founding in 2005. Over the past 14 years, Applebee’s restaurants across the country have collectively raised nearly $10 million to help fund childhood cancer research and family support programs.
Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation was established in 2005 to continue the mission of 4-year-old Alex,
who, while fighting her own battle against cancer, set up a lemonade stand to help raise money for “doctors to find a cure” for all childhood cancers.
Applebee’s locations owned and operated by Apple American Group in New Mexico include participating locations in Gallup, Farmington, Santa Fe, Clovis, Roswell, Hobbs, Alamogordo, Los Lunas, Rio Rancho and Bernalillo.
Nusenda employees volunteer on holiday
Nusenda Credit Union employees from around New Mexico devoted the Monday, Oct. 8, federal holiday to volunteer for five community organizations serving Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Socorro.
The effort was part of Nusenda’s second annual Community Day, which
allows employees to help the communities they serve in alignment with the credit union’s core values and current Nusenda Foundation community partnerships.
In total, 235 Nusenda employees, 45 percent of its total workforce, volunteered for:
Roadrunner Food Bank of New Mexico: The state’s largest food bank, providing 30 million pounds of food a year to a network of hundreds of partner agencies and regional food banks. At this location, 55 Nusenda employees sorted and prepped 11,352 pounds of food for distribution throughout New Mexico.
La Familia Medical Center: A community center in Santa Fe since 1972 that provides medical services to all, regardless of income or ability to pay. At this location, 11 Nusenda employees cleaned out flower beds and trimmed trees, picked up 19 bags of trash, and cleaned the organization’s main parking lot.
National Hispanic Cultural Center: Dedicated to preserving, promoting, and advancing Hispanic culture, arts and humanities. At this location, 107 Nusenda employees helped make 1,200 sugar skulls, 300 containers of decorations and icing bags, and education booklets for 30 teacher kits so Albuquerque kids can learn about Día de los Muertos and its cultural importance in an engaging way. Additionally, employees helped build a threetier, 40-foot-long community
ofrenda decorated with several hundred handmade tissue-paper flowers; and helped clean and organize a community art room.
Parkview Elementary, Socorro Consolidated Schools: Serving the educational needs of Socorro and surrounding communities for over a century, the district provides a rich, diverse, and challenging curriculum to 1,920 students. At this location, nine Nusenda employees helped make the
Parkview Elementary School campus more inviting for kids, educators and visitors by removing weeds and old grass, and trimming 20 trees and bushes; laying out 190 bags of mulch; and gathering 15 bags of trash.
Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge: a jewel along the Rio Grande — 570 acres perfect for getting outside and enjoying nature in the Albuquerque metro area. At this location, 53 Nusenda employees removed 14 bags of trash and two trailers full of weeds and sowed 51 bags of sunflower seeds.
“This innovative project was based on our employees’ increased desires to participate in more meaningful ways within the communities they serve,” said Michelle Dearholt, chief retail and performance officer for Nusenda. “Our employees’ commitment has been instrumental in the success of this annual project.
“Giving back is in our DNA. As a financial cooperative, we consciously work for the betterment and sustainability of our communities. Our connection with our memberowners goes beyond simply providing a product or service.”
Nusenda’s Community Day is part of a series of initiatives geared toward employee community engagement, according to Dearholt. Employees can also participate in the credit union’s AdoptA-Cause program, which gives them the opportunity to volunteer with their branch or department to support local organizations, such as PB&J Family Services, The Girls Inc., Locker #505, Ronald McDonald House Charities of New Mexico, Galloping Grace Youth Ranch, the New Mexico Children, Youth & Families Department, and more.