Giving To The Community

We believe it is our responsibility as a business to be involved in our community and to contribute our time and resources to help people in need. Our leadership serves on the steering committee for a state-wide Christian Collaborative, on The Salvation Army Advisory Board for the Northern Division and on the Twin Cities Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center (ARC) Advisory Council.

In recognition for its volunteer work, Montage leadership has been honored with the WCCO Good Neighbor Award, the Who's Who in Community Ministry Leadership Award and a Salvation Army Volunteer of the Year Award. Many Montage employees take an active role in a host of volunteer and charitable activities such as:

• Support for Mentor Corps, a program that focuses on the recruitment, training and development of mentors to guide men and women coming out of prison or those completing a treatment program for addiction. Visit online at www.thementorcorps.org .
• A pro bono effort to manage and market Doughnut Girl Coffee to raise revenue for The Salvation Army throughout the Northern Division territory. Visit online at www.doughnutgirl.net.
• Operate a call center and website and produce communication materials for The Salvation Army ARC. All pro bono.
• Provide marketing and communications assistance for R3, a collaboration that helps people in the road to recovery, reentry and renewal.
  Visit online at www.r3collaborative.org.
• Participate in The Salvation Army Adopt-A-Family Program and Christmas Bell Ringing Program.
• Provide marketing and communications assistance to a variety of small ministries to help them with enterprise initiatives for generating additional finances.
• Sponsor a walking team to participate in "It Only Takes a Spark," an annual event that raises money for the local county Cancer Fund.
• Participate annually in Combined Appeal fundraising, which provides social, educational, and cultural development for residents of Milbank, South Dakota.
• Employees regularly volunteer their time to Girl Scouts, church organizations, the local historical society, youth sports and volunteer fire and rescue.

We use a 19th century poem written by Spencer Michael Free as our call to lead us in our community service and giving. It's also very relational to the core values of our business. The title is The Human Touch.

'Tis the human touch in this world that counts,
The touch of your hand and mine,
Which means far more to the fainting heart
Than shelter, bread and wine;
For shelter is gone when the night is o'er,
And bread lasts only a day
But the touch of the hand and the sound of the voice
Sing on in the soul always.

-Spencer Michael Free