During these challenging times, Duininck continues to find ways to give back to the communities it serves. We believe in building strong communities and sought out an organization that shares that same goal.
“We know COVID-19 has changed the dynamics of our communities. As a company, we had to ask ourselves, how can we make a difference?” explains Chris Duininck, President of Duininck, Inc. “For us, Safe Avenues is a partner in our efforts to build strong communities. We appreciate all the work they’re doing.”
Dawn Lindahl, Quality Control Manager at Duininck, Inc., joined Chris in presenting the Safe Avenues donation. “I’m proud to represent my work family as we contribute to Safe Avenues. We’re about families helping families.”
Safe Avenues provides domestic and sexual violence victim advocacy to eight primary counties in southwestern Minnesota. Seven of those counties are home to many Duininck, Inc. employees and their families. Across these shared counties, Safe Avenues has seen significant impacts to its programs due to the economic and health crisis.
“Since COVID-19 started, throughout our counties we have seen roughly a 30% increase in sexual assault cases and an increase in the number of people asking for protective orders,” explains Jen Johnson, Safe Avenues Executive Director.
To continue serving those in its programs, Safe Avenues relies on the generosity of others. As major grant funders allocate resources toward COVID-19-related emergencies and small businesses face challenges of their own, Safe Avenues depends on strong community relationships to help fund its programs.
Jen shares her gratitude: “We are very blessed to be in Kandiyohi County. As a whole, it’s a very giving community and I am very thankful. They hear of a need, just like Duininck, and give before we even need to ask. That’s amazing.”
Duininck, Inc. is proud to support the mission of Safe Avenues in its efforts to address domestic and sexual violence in the communities both organizations call home.
