Matching Gift Challenge for the ACR SAFE
The ACR SAFE—the Staff Agenda Fund for Emergencies— was set up as ACR’s version of an employee assistance program to help fellow coworkers who are experiencing urgent and overwhelming needs.
$10,000 Matching Gift Challenge for the ACR SAFE
In the past year the SAFE has had 23 requests for assistance. As a result, SAFE funds are running a bit low. To replenish the SAFE, ACR’s founders Jim and Dorothy Nelson have offered a generous matching gift of $10,000 for employees who donate!
The Nelsons will match employee payroll withholding amounts five times—in other words, a commitment for $1 of payroll withholding per pay period will be matched with a one-time $5 gift. Ongoing biweekly payroll withholdings are the best way to donate to the SAFE. Typical employee donations range from 25 cents to $20 per paycheck, with an average donation of about $2.50 per paycheck. If you’d rather give just a one-time gift to the SAFE, the Nelsons will match employee one-time gifts dollar for dollar. This matching will continue up to $10,000 total.
If you are already donating to the SAFE, thank you! You are helping coworkers in meaningful ways. If you’d like to start donating or if you’d like to increase your donation, you can find SAFE donation forms here, or ask your ACR supervisor for a SAFE donation form, or you can donate directly to the “ACR Homes Employee Safe Fund”.
Helping Coworkers with Urgent Needs
With donations from employees and others, over the past 9 years the ACR SAFE has responded to 132 requests for help with things like:
- medical bills and lost income due to leave of absence during illness
- rent and groceries for an employee who needed time off after surgery
- auto insurance deductibles following accidents and other auto repairs
- Roof repair and related water damage
- losses due to theft
So thankful the ACR SAFE option exists
One ACR employee who received help from the SAFE wrote,
This has hands down been the most difficult season of my life, and yet in the midst of it I’m still amazed at God’s faithfulness. I have a great network of family, friends and co-workers, I am alive and healthy, have a steady job which I enjoy and provides healthcare, have a safe place to live, and the list goes on…As I sit and try to figure out how to make things work I am often overwhelmed and unsure how everything will pan out. Then out of the blue someone provides a bit of help, hope or insight. I am so thankful the SAFE option even exists. I know this does not provide a permanent fix, but it can make a very difficult situation a bit easier. Thank you for anything you can do—I appreciate it so much!
ACR employees who contribute to the SAFE enjoy being able to help in meaningful ways, too. A SAFE Committee member commented, “I am glad to be able to help. Delivering a check and supplies on behalf of the ACR SAFE is the best job in the world. It is especially rewarding to know that we are helping our own and to know that all of the money goes directly to coworkers who are in need.”