Corporate volunteers make impact at Lyngblomsten Mid-Summer Festival

June 21, 2018

Corporate volunteers from UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement (pictured above) engage with the Lyngblomsten community through a variety of service opportunities throughout the year, including accompanying care center residents on a visit to Como Zoo and setting up for the Lyngblomsten Mid-Summer Festival. 

By Brandi Jewett

For six years, corporate volunteers from UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement have donned special T-shirts for one day each summer. 

The T-shirts announce them as Lyngblomsten Mid-Summer Festival volunteers—a title each member of the group wears with pride.  This summer will be no different.

“We love to volunteer and give back to our community,” said Jaclyn McGuigan, an underwriting consultant with UnitedHealthcare.  “Volunteering at the festival allows us the opportunity to volunteer, but more importantly, to help those that we serve.”

The Lyngblomsten Mid-Summer Festival attracts more than 1,000 people to its Como Park campus each year and features an arts showcase, make-and-take art activities, live music and entertainment, wellness demonstrations, food, and games. 

Setting up such a large event requires help from dozens of volunteers.  UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement’s corporate volunteer group has assisted with set-up duties that have ranged from setting up tables, chairs, and tents outside to putting up games and signs inside Lyngblomsten when inclement weather has forced the festival indoors.

The volunteer group also participates in other volunteer opportunities offered at Lyngblomsten, including this past winter when its members helped decorate the campus for Christmas and wrap presents for care center residents.   

“For me personally, my favorite parts about volunteering would have to be giving back and helping others,” McGuigan said.  “Our day-to-day lives are so busy.  This allows for the opportunity to take a step back and concentrate on kindness and doing something that benefits others.”

In total, corporate group volunteers gave 774 hours of service to Lyngblomsten in 2017.  Lyngblomsten provides a variety of volunteer opportunities for corporate groups that allow them to foster a more personal link to the community while making a difference. 

Lyngblomsten staff plan and execute opportunities that provide meaningful experiences for corporate volunteer groups and are fun and engaging for residents and tenants.  Though the Lyngblomsten Mid-Summer Festival happens once a year, opportunities for volunteer groups are offered year-round and include scheduled set dates as well as flexible date events to accommodate schedules.

“Volunteering in general is so needed and important,” McGuigan said.  “However, volunteering specifically at Lyngblomsten allows us to help and interact with those that we serve in our day-to-day jobs.  It has been a fantastic opportunity and experience for all of us.”

To learn more about volunteering for the Lyngblomsten Mid-Summer Festival and other corporate volunteer opportunities on the Lyngblomsten campus, visit www.lyngblomsten.org/volunteer or contact Tim Overweg at (651) 632-5319 or toverweg@lyngblomsten.org.