By Mike Strathdee
As printed in The Marketplace – November-December 2017
Vidir Machine is allowing its employees to donate to MEDA via payroll deduction, and will match employee contributions up to $25,000.
The program, launched this spring as a corporate responsibility initiative, is in addition to the $50,000 gift that owners of the Arborg, Man. manufacturer of merchandising carousels and display fixtures have pledged to MEDA this year, said company co-president Peter Dueck.
Dueck is hopeful the initiative will result in $100,000 in gifts to MEDA annually.
Vidir staff have long been aware of the involvement that Peter and Sid Dueck and their families have with MEDA. Over time, the Duecks have been telling employees about MEDA’s work during coffee breaks, and thanking employees for their role in business success that allows Vidir to give back.
“Giving to charity is always the result of profits,” Peter said. “Profits are always the result of hard work. It didn’t seem to be fair for ownership to be making 100% of the decision on where charity should go.
Including them is a way of saying that the fact we can even give is because of your hard work, so let’s all work together.”
Currently, about a quarter of the firm’s 125 employees are participating in the payroll deduction plan. Vidir sends out quarterly updates on the program to its workers.
Dueck hopes other firms will follow Vidir’s example.
