MILBRIDGE — On June 22 over 100 of Wyman’s employees took part in “Wildly Better Days,” a company-wide volunteer day, which is part of Wyman’s commitment to give 2,000 hours annually to support healthy, active communities.
The event, now in its fifth year, benefits different organizations each year, including three institutions in Milbridge: Women for Healthy Rural Living, Gateway Milbridge, and the Town of Milbridge Ball Field.
“Wildly Better Days offers a true trifecta of benefits,” says Tony Shurman, Wyman’s president and chief executive. “It strengthens connections across our team, enriches the community, and is uplifting to all who participate.”
More than 100 Wyman’s employees from offices throughout Maine participated in the event.
This initiative is part of Wyman’s effort to support the communities where its employees work and live. As a company, Wyman’s has long supported organizations like Maine Seacoast Mission, Good Shepherd Food Bank, and Women for Healthy Rural Living, but in recent years, has been working to give more employees more opportunities to directly give back to more nonprofit organizations, during their workdays. This event included the following organizations:
- Women for Healthy Rural Living is a 19-year-old organization that provides a range of programs to support women’s health. Wyman’s employees edged and prepared gardens for planting, built compost bins, and helped with maintenance projects for the historic building that houses the organization.
- Gateway Milbridge is a nonprofit revitalization organization that is rebuilding the Milbridge Theater and organizes a variety of community events and celebrations. Wyman’s employees worked on a variety of maintenance and construction projects.
- Milbridge’s Town Ball Field is the town-owned property where the community’s children have been playing baseball for decades. Wyman’s employees repaired roofs on dugouts, painted dugouts, weeded and edged the field, and facilitated the donation of a shed from Shed Happens in Portland.
Based in Milbridge, Wyman’s was founded in 1874 by Jasper Wyman and is in the fifth generation of family ownership. Wyman’s is one of the world’s leading growers and processors of wild blueberries, and the country’s top-selling retail brand of frozen fruit. The company owns 55,000 acres of land throughout Maine and Canada and works with partner farmers around the world. Wyman’s provides 200 year-round jobs, plus hundreds of seasonal jobs during the harvest.
Wild blueberries, vaccinuim angustifolium, are Maine’s official state fruit. The low-bush berries took root in Maine 10,000 years ago, after the glaciers receded, and Maine is the only state in the U.S. where wild blueberries are commercially grown. Learn more at wymans.com.