For the 18th year, employees in Bismarck and Mandan, North Dakota, gave generously in hopes of making the holidays a little brighter for families in need.

Employees at MDU Resources, Montana-Dakota Utilities, WBI Energy and MDU Construction Services Group supported the Abused Adult Resource Center’s Hope for the Holidays program by purchasing, wrapping and delivering gifts for 57 families consisting of 132 women and children.

The Abused Adult Resource Center is a nonprofit organization that serves victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in seven North Dakota counties.

Sonya Wald with Montana-Dakota Utilities has led the company’s participation with Abused Adult Resource Center’s program since 2013. At that time, 12 families received gifts.

“The women and children receiving these gifts have experienced probably the worst thing in their lives,” Wald said. “To see how our employees — year after year — go above and beyond to make sure these families have some joy at the holidays is absolutely amazing.”

According to Wald, employees from 36 departments contributed to the effort.

Wald and fellow co-workers Dyke Boese, Dave Wiedmeier, Sarah Kirkendall and Holly Watts gathered and delivered the gifts, which nearly filled a 15-foot trailer.

Sixteen employees raised almost $5,000 for poverty programs in the Bismarck, North Dakota, area by each wearing a black dress or outfit for four days in a row. The select attire was part of their participation in the Missouri Slope Areawide United Way’s Little Black Dress campaign, a poverty-awareness campaign that raises money for programs benefitting local women and children.

Together, the employees raised $4,800 to support the United Way’s Education Initiative that helps women and children overcome the barriers of poverty, facilitating success in school and in life. At the end of the week, the black outfits worn by the participants are donated to the Abused Adult Resource Center’s Career Closet, which provides clothes to survivors of domestic abuse.

The 16 employees formed three teams – “Be Audit You Can Be,” “Working our Assets off” and “Live Wires” — and represented MDU Resources, Montana-Dakota Utilities and MDU Construction Services Group.

Montana-Dakota Utilities Black Hills Region employees recently volunteered at The Club for Boys in Rapid City, South Dakota, during the United Way of the Black Hills’ Month of Caring.

The Club for Boys provides a safe, caring environment and positive experiences that help boys develop self-esteem and character.

Montana-Dakota’s eight-person volunteer team completed the following projects at The Club:

• Replaced 17 outdated network cameras with new camera units.
• Installed 14 eye bolts in the gym.
• Glued acoustic tiles to the ceiling of the den.
• Painted the computer room and reading nook in the library.

“We appreciate the opportunity to give back and take great pride in our company’s commitment to our community,” Katie Good, Montana-Dakota senior energy services representative and employee volunteer, said. “Our team has worked with The Club for Boys for many years during the Month of Caring and appreciates the partnership we have fostered.”

Good said the employees’ four hours of volunteer labor coupled with the donation from Montana-Dakota to United Way is an immense contribution to The Club.

For many of us, our moms are the inspiration for who we are and what we do. This is true for Anthony Stamness, technical lead at WBI Energy Corrosion Services. In fact, his mom is the inspiration for something Stamness has now done twice: grow and donate his hair for kids dealing with cancer or other medical conditions.

In 2017, Stamness’ mom talked him into it the first time. “She told me, ‘You have beautiful curly hair. You should grow and donate it,’” Stamness said.

Fast forward five years, and Stamness donated his hair again — this time in remembrance of his mom, who died from cancer.

“It [donating hair] took on a whole new meaning after she was diagnosed with stage four cancer in the winter of 2019,” Stamness said. “After watching mom go through cancer, it’s tough. Mom kept her curly hair. For kids going through this and losing their hair, it’s super confusing.”

A donation two years in the making
It took two years and two hairbrushes (curly hair is pretty tough on things, according to Stamness) for his hair to reach the preferred length of 14 inches for a second donation in the summer of 2022.

When it came time to cut his hair for the second time, Stamness chose a significant date: Aug. 5, his mom’s birthday.

That day, he sat down in the salon chair and got a surprise. When the hairdresser pulled his curls straight, his hair measured 20 inches, six inches longer than the preferred length. With the combination of length, curls and thick hair, Stamness’ donation amounted to six ponytails.

“Mom talked me into growing my hair initially because of my curls,” Stamness said. “Evidently, girls love curls. So, I’m pretty sure some lucky kid will be really stoked to have those curls.”

Both of Stamness’ hair donations were made to Wigs for Kids, a nonprofit organization that helps children suffering from hair loss stemming from chemotherapy, radiation therapy, alopecia, burns and other medical causes.

“When they’re that young, they’re going through their formative years, and this helps give them some normalcy,” Stamness said. “The little creature comforts when everything is on fire makes it a lot easier. Some people think it’s vanity, but for a kid that young, they don’t know what vanity is.”

Kinks along the way
Life with long locks presented Stamness with a few kinks along the way. An avid motorcyclist, he hopped on his bike one afternoon with the thought that the windblown look would be good on him.

“After three hours of conditioning and applying detangler, I decided never to do that again,” Stamness said.

He also learned a few other things, like the importance of pulling his hair back into a ponytail when working out at the gym. “Otherwise, you’re eating your hair all the time,” he noted.

And those hot summer days? “Humidity puts that stuff on full frizz,” Stamness said.

Perhaps the biggest crimp in Stamness’ efforts was to his budget. Before his hair growing adventures, Stamness thought women were nuts for spending so much money on hair care products.

“Boy, was I wrong,” Stamness said. “Good product is worth every penny when you have really curly hair. It definitely costs a lot of money to keep that stuff tame, and I didn’t know. What a lesson!”

Despite the kinks, crimps and dollars spent on quality hair products to maintain a tangle-free flowing mane, Stamness entertains the thought of donating his hair for a third time.

But he could encounter a new tangle to his plan. “The grey hairs are sneaking up on me,” Stamness said.

For anyone interested in growing and donating their hair, Stamness recommends Wigs for Kids. “And don’t go cheap on the hair products,” he added.