Going Beyond Their Mission

The holidays are a time of comfort and togetherness for families, but many face countless challenges during this time of the year. For families facing unemployment, medical issues, and other difficulties, these stressors don’t disappear with the arrival of the holidays. These issues are faced year-round and the additional pressure of the pandemic added even more challenges to an already difficult situation.

BIO Girls, a nonprofit based in Fargo that strives to improve adolescent girls’ self-esteem through empowerment of self and service, recognized that many nonprofits that traditionally provided services and donations to families in need around the holidays did not have the resources to support their missions this past season.

“While this didn’t directly align with our mission, we felt called to help make Christmas a little more joyful for families in need,” said Missy Heilman, founder and executive director of BIO Girls.

This marked the beginning of the Christmas Kindness Project, which sought to spread holiday cheer to families in need. Choice Bank’s Wishing Well program, along with Vive Salon, jumped at the opportunity to help BIO Girls bring Christmas blessings into the homes of nine families across the region. These families were randomly selected from nominations from the community to receive a gift box full of presents.

With the help of the Wishing Well program, BIO Girls gave fun gifts and necessities like socks, pajamas, and shoes to the children of these wonderful families. Vive Salon donated a variety of hair products. Each family received shampoo and conditioner plus some fun extras. The extra hair products were donated to Olivet Lutheran Church and distributed with their Christmas Eve meal to those struggling with food insecurity and homelessness.

Recognizing this unmet need in the community, BIO Girls went beyond its mission to help make this season more cheerful for the well-deserving families.

Choice Bank has been a community partner of BIO Girls since 2015. In 2019, Choice Bank increased its support by funding scholarships for the program’s low-income participants.

The Choice Bank Wishing Well is accepting wishes! Ready to cast yours? Visit choicewishingwell.com and let us know who you would like to help out in your community.