TDS partners with local and national charities to help Afghan refugees

TDS Telecom (TDS^®) partnered with Team Rubicon and the DeForest Chamber of Commerce to provide assistance to the roughly 12,500 Afghan refugees living at Fort McCoy in western Wisconsin. Through a combination of in-kind donations from TDS associates and monetary gifts, the company hopes to help make a difference for those in need.

“Many of these refugees arrived in the Unites States without any resources,” said Drew Petersen, Vice President of Corporate Affairs at TDS. “We worked with two wonderful organizations to help give these folks what they need to start again.”

A donation drive organized by TDS associates also collected two trucks worth of items identified by Team Rubicon as being particularly needed. From clothing and child-specific items, to personal care and hygiene items, associates dropped off or purchased supplies on the internet to have delivered. TDS employees sorted the collections and are delivering them to Fort McCoy on Saturday, September 25.

TDS also donated $2,500 to a philanthropic initiative through the DeForest Windsor Area Chamber of Commerce, in cooperation with the Wisconsin Emergency Management (WEM). The chamber used the funds to provide culturally appropriate clothing for all ages and genders, cases of water, and other essential supplies.

“Great things can happen when people team up towards a common goal,” says Petersen. “It was our pleasure to be a part of this larger relief effort.”

TDS is headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin and employs more than 1,400 people in the state.