This year has been challenging for everyone in the agriculture industry. From drought to fire to rampant supply chain disruption, 2021 has shown us that it is important, now more than ever, to find meaningful ways to support our local communities to enact real change. No one understands the needs of a community more than its own people, and that is why Columbia Grain International (CGI) is launching its Cultivating Community Christmas Campaign, which motivates its teams across the northern tier of the U.S. to join together and volunteer at local charities to give back. From Oregon to Idaho, Montana to North Dakota, and every CGI facility in-between, CGI teams are rallying together to find out what their community needs most this holiday season and how to lend their talent and time to make a difference.

“Our employees have a great understanding of how they can best serve their communities at the local level. We are proud to have the opportunity to give generously and foster brighter futures in our local communities,” said CGI Vice President of Human Resources, Patty Groman.

"Here at CGI, we are so proud of our employees who demonstrate care in their community by becoming leaders to bring value to qualified non-profit organizations in each of the communities we represent," said Jeff Van Pevenage, president and CEO of Columbia Grain International. 

To ensure communities are properly nourished during the holidays, CGI’s office in Pullman, Washington is donating to local foodbanks, while members of its Port of Wilma office will donate food to nursing homes throughout the Lewis Clark Valley. CGI’s Lind office will also help get food to those in need by bagging up donations at the Ritzville Food Bank and distributing them throughout Lind.   

Cultivating Community Christmas will also make this Christmas special for the youngest members of CGI’s communities through various toy drives. In addition to helping its local food bank, CGI’s Lind office will donate and wrap Christmas gifts for the Lind Little Peeps program at the town’s elementary school. CGI’s office in Grangeville, Idaho, has a box accepting gift donations for Toys for Tots, and its Craigmont office will bring gifts to the nearby town of Nezperce through the Nezperce Service League’s Giving Tree program.

In Montana, the CGI facility in Great Falls is busy shopping for Toys for Tots, donating to Angel Tree, and wrapping gifts for a local retirement home. 

At the CGI headquarters in Portland, Oregon, staff is working with SnowCap Community Charities, an organization created to provide food, clothing, advocacy, and other services to the poor. Portland employees have donated food and toiletries. They are also collecting for Toys for Tots and partnering with the US Marine Corp. 

Through Cultivating Community Christmas, Columbia Grain International continues to discover new ways of helping its communities and demonstrating its belief in each community member’s integrity and value.