Meet our August Employee Campaign Manager (ECM) Spotlight: Jill Harmon of BlueScope! Jill is the Internal Communications and Engagement Manager and Foundation Director at BlueScope. Jill has been in the ECM world for more than 5 years and began her journey after getting involved with BlueScope’s United Way Volunteer Committee.
Jill has volunteered most of her life. For 15 years, she lent a hand at Alpha Point Association for the Blind teaching an art program to adults who were blind or visually impaired. Through that program, she began volunteering at other nonprofits doing art-related programs for youth.
“When I started working in the foundation role at BlueScope, I was able to kind of pair those experiences with understanding some of the challenges that nonprofits face in terms of funding and resources, and then also just that inspiration from all the good work they do. I want to help be a part of that in some way,” she said.
BlueScope’s campaign is typically held in the fall close to Halloween, so Jill and her team enjoy creating and executing fun ideas that engage associates, like costume contests. As part of their campaigns, they also invite a guest speaker from a nonprofit agency or United Way to visit and share how any amount of giving makes a difference. They met their campaign goals for this season which included retaining previous donors, adding new donors and increasing overall participation.
BlueScope also holds different volunteer opportunities throughout the year, such as their Volunteer Day of Caring where employees, families and friends get together to support United Way. “When you get all of the people together, you get to meet people’s families and their friends. We always take pictures at the beginning so you can see kind of before we went in and then after when the grounds are all cleaned, maybe the playground has been repaired or the pool area was painted,” Jill shared. “Whatever activity we did, it’s really it’s touching to see the difference just a few people can make.”
Jill believes United Way is a one-stop shop to make an impact in our community. “United Way is an easy choice because really, it’s an umbrella agency that ties together all of these different nonprofits in the Kansas City region, and that they vet all of the nonprofits. You look at their financials, you look at the impact they’re making. You have a wide network of volunteers and corporate partners. It’s a one stop to make a big impact across a broad network of nonprofits,” she said.
We’re inspired by Jill’s commitment to mobilizing positive change in our communities. Keep a look out for more stories as we highlight ECMs making a difference in our communities.
