[vreihen16]

Here's a holiday one for all y'all. My employer of the last 35 years holds an annual employee Christmas banquet party (except this year because COVID). Every year, they hold a 50/50 raffle as part of the party, with the proceeds going to one of many worthy local charities. For years even before I started working there, the tradition was for whoever won the 50/50 to donate their winnings to the charity as well.

Around 1995, one of the overnight custodial staff members won the 50/50...and chose to keep the winning 50% instead of donating it. Nobody questioned her decision, or need for the money. Unfortunately, it ended the tradition for over 10 years, as staff turned over and all but forgot about it.

Fast-forward to 2012. I was sitting next to a director from another department at the banquet when the 50/50 sales team came by. I bought my usual $40 of tickets. She bought $20, saying that she could use the winnings for holiday stuff. I had mentioned the tradition (that pre-dated her employment), and said that someone of the director's level was certainly in the financial position to give the winnings to the charity. She asked if I would *really* do that if I won? I told her that I would do it without question, to re-kindle the tradition.

Long story short, Habitat for Humanity received an extra $532 donation that year when I won the 50/50. My acceptance speech was about how giving back was a tradition for years before I started working there, and that I was going to continue with the forgotten tradition.

The next year, the VP Finance won, and donated the winnings back to keep the tradition going. The year after that, one of my IT colleagues won and likewise donated it back, followed by another high-level executive the next year. A whole new generation of employees are now aware of the tradition, and will hopefully keep carrying it on again for years to come.....