Knutson Cares: Giving the Gift of Art
Happy National Volunteer Week! Here at Knutson, we sincerely believe in being good corporate citizens – we know that working and living in our communities is both a responsibility and an opportunity. That’s why we are committed to making our communities vibrant and comfortable for all.
While we support various organizations for their meaningful contributions to great causes, it is wholly special when our company’s values collide with our clients’ and employees’. Such a thing happened when Knutson’s Safety Systems Manager, Denise Crestik, joined in on a call with the Knutson project team out at Gillette Children’s Specialty Center in St. Paul.
When Crestik heard the project team brainstorming how Knutson could provide The Knutson Experience to the children at Gillette Children’s, she immediately knew her involvement at the non-profit organization Breanna’s Gift could bridge the gap.
With Crestik’s coordination efforts, on Thursday, April 25, Knutson’s Minneapolis office gathered to assemble Art Takeout boxes for Breanna’s Gift. Each box houses a different individual art project, containing instructions and all materials necessary to complete the project; they are specially designed for children who are not able to leave their hospital rooms to join group classes. The boxes Knutson worked on will be donated to children who are receiving care at the Gillette Children’s St. Paul campus, where the general contractor is working on a project.
“Being on-site already, we were looking for a way to bring The Knutson Experience to the project, and specifically the children at the project site,” said Crestik. “Working with Breanna’s Gift was a solution for us to get involved. The opportunity to give a brief respite to children that are suffering from cancer and other life-threatening illnesses, who cannot leave their rooms to interact with other children or take part in activities, is immeasurable in importance.”
Breanna’s Gift is a non-profit arts program that brings the joy of dance, visual arts, music and performing arts to children facing cancer and other serious illnesses. Knutson is proud to be sponsoring a year’s worth of Art Takeout boxes at Gillette Children’s.
Knutson is gearing up to partake in several volunteer opportunities over the next several months as part of an initiative called Knutson Cares. To learn more about our recent community involvement efforts, visit our Community Involvement page.
