For more information contact:
Cindy Tomlinson, Associate Public Relations Manager
TDS Telecommunications Corp.
608-664-4471 / cindy.tomlinson@tdstelecom.com
Support includes gifts and $1,500 in cash/gift cards, $10,000 to food pantries, and Second Harvest Foodbank receives money for more than 24,000 meals.
The holidays are quickly approaching and employees at TDS Telecommunications Corp. (TDS®) have really stepped it up to help those in need this year. The company and its employees are helping 13 organizations this month, including:
• Porchlight — More than 100 employees are volunteering as “Guardian Angels” helping 122 families and individuals (more than half the people at Porchlight in need of kindness). TDS Guardian Angels are donating gifts and food, in addition to the nearly 550 pounds of turkey and ham donated for Thanksgiving. TDS also made a $1,100 donation to ensure 27 singles (who were without “angels”) would have gifts and food for the holiday.
• TDS Giving Tree supports Domestic Abuse Intervention Services, Dane County Humane Society, Independent Living — Wish lists were hung on trees throughout TDS to fulfill the wishes of area families, children, and pets. In total, the gifts filled three oversized boxes (4’x4’x4’) with items — enough to fill a couple office cubicles — plus $630 in gift cards.
• Toys for Tots — More than 1,000 toys (overflowing two 4’x4’x4’ boxes) and $885 in cash and gift cards were donated for the annual drive to ensure every child gets a toy for the holidays.
• Salvation Army — Nearly 100 TDS employees and family members are volunteering 130 hours to ring the bell at Copps Food Center on Junction Road for the Salvation Army.
• American Red Cross Blood Drive — TDS hosted five blood drives this year, collecting nearly 200 blood donations with the potential to save more than 600 lives. TDS will host its first blood drive of 2011 on Jan. 10.
• Food Pantries — TDS donated $10,000 to food pantries in Verona, Monona, Middleton, Waunakee, and Belleville for the holiday season.
“The generosity and outpouring of support by our employees and company is simply remarkable,” says Andrew Petersen, vice president of External Affairs and Communications at TDS. “It’s humbling to know that our employees, and our company, are so generous when it comes to helping others. It’s an amazing feeling to see the commitment and know that we are making a difference.”
In addition to the employee donations, and in lieu of hosting a corporate party, TDS invited employees to choose a non-profit agency to receive a $7,000 financial contribution. This year (for the third year in a row) employees chose Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin. Combining the $7,000 cash donation and hundreds of pounds of food, TDS is generating more than 24,000 meals for Second Harvest to help feed the community.
“While our employees’ holiday efforts are impressive, helping organizations is a year-round initiative at TDS,” Petersen says. “We have a group of employees who coordinate volunteer activities nearly every month. It’s part of our corporate culture and one more way to connect with our customers and communities.”
In 2010, TDS employees used paid time off to volunteer nearly 1,000 hours to help others. Many employees used this time to answer phones during the Wisconsin Public Television’s spring auction, to deliver meals for Meals on Wheels, and to help at area schools.
TDS also supports the United Way of Dane County. The company’s 2010 annual campaign topped its goal and raised $162,300. In addition, TDS made financial contributions — totaling more than $150,000 — to area non-profit organizations in Dane County, including:
• American Red Cross Real Heroes
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dane County
• Lussier Community Center
• Dean Foundation Free Clinics, including the Benevolent Specialists Free Clinic in Middleton
• Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
• Domestic Abuse Intervention Services
• Porchlight
For more information, or to invite TDS to join your organization’s efforts, visit http://www.tdstelecom.com/MediaRoom/Community.aspx.
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TDS Telecommunications Corp. markets communication services to business and residential customers in 30 states through its brands TDS Telecom® and TDS Metrocom®. With 1.1 million access line equivalents in service, TDS Telecommunications Corp. connects customers to phone, broadband, and digital television service in hundreds of rural, suburban, and metropolitan communities. TDS Telecommunications Corp. is the eighth-largest wire line company in the nation; employing approximately 2,500 people. The company is headquartered in Madison, Wis. Visit www.tdstelecom.com and www.tdsbusiness.com for more information.
TDS Telecommunications Corp. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. [NYSE: TDS, TDS.S] Telephone and Data Systems, Inc., a Fortune 500® company, provides wireless, local and long-distance telephone and broadband services to nearly 7.2 million customers in 36 states through TDS Telecommunications Corp. and U.S. Cellular® [NYSE: USM], its 83-percent owned wireless subsidiary. Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Chicago, Telephone and Data Systems employed 12,300 employees as of Sept. 30, 2010. Visit www.teldta.com for more information.