A group from the Detroit office of DTE Midstream spent a morning volunteering at the Earthworks Urban Farm, which supplies the Capuchin Soup Kitchen and Farmers’ Market with organic produce. Seven employees labored in the one-acre garden by tilling rows, pulling weeds, and sifting compost. The Farm is an important source of organic, low-cost vegetables and fruits in the eastside neighborhoods of Detroit, which have limited access to healthy food alternatives.
The Midstream volunteers were part of the Care Force Program of DTE Energy, where volunteerism is a core value for being “a force for growth in the communities where we live and serve”. A culture of volunteering achieved a new “best-in-class” level in 2018 with a 50% participation rate of DTE Energy’s workforce. In total, DTE employees volunteered more than 89,000 hours, helped 828 nonprofits and reached an estimated value of $6 million in in-kind services. See what other cool things DTE is up to in the volunteerism arena by visiting Empowering Michigan.