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BWL has always been committed to supporting the greater Lansing community we serve, above and beyond just utility services – and the holidays are no exception. Through the holiday season, employees and departments collect gifts and essentials including toys, food, clothing, money and their time to give to families in need throughout the Lansing region. 

One of our most cherished traditions is participating in Toys for Tots, which has been a staple at BWL for over 20 years. This year employees donated 265 toys from Barbies to bicycles, filling collection boxes at each of our offices in hopes of making the holidays a little brighter.  

Many employees serve on boards across the community, including the Boys and Girls Club of Lansing. Santa and his helpers work to collect funds from across BWL and purchase gifts for children in their program. We even hold a breakfast where Santa hand delivers the presents!  

Many angel trees can also be found across BWL departments partnering with other organization to help families struggling during the holiday season. Angel trees help multiple families, as each angel is another child or family who will receive gifts for the holidays.  

Another favorite organization we partner with is The Lansing Old Newsboys Association, whose efforts provide footwear to deserving school-aged children in the Greater Lansing area. This year, BWL raised over $3,500 selling “Lansing Spoof Journal” newspapers throughout BWL.  

Last but not least, for over ten years, our Customer Operations Department has gone above and beyond to embody “Hometown People, Hometown Power.” As one of the closest groups serving our customers, they listen to struggles and help where they can day in and day out. During the holidays, it’s been a point of emphasis for this group to take up a collection and make this time a little merrier for families BWL serves. This year, the team caught wind of a special family dealing with some health struggles in their home and thought they could lighten their load. 

From mid-November through mid-December, lists are made and gifts or monetary donations are collected. Once everything is gathered, the team will wrap the presents and eventually deliver them to the family before Christmas.  

At BWL, we're doing more than just providing utility services, we’re public power. And public power means taking care of the community around you by providing safe, affordable and reliable power and beyond.