Community

We’re all in this together

We invest in community. That includes directing financial and volunteer support to initiatives that impact our policyholder owners.

Our charitable activities focus primarily on protecting people from loss and injury

Major Sponsorship – For 2010, Red River Mutual is a major sponsor of Habitat for Humanity. In addition to our funding, several Red River Mutual staff will be taking part in a ‘sustainable’ home build in Winnipeg.

Local Sponsorship – We direct a significant amount of our charitable support to grassroots projects in the communities we serve.

Staff-Directed Sponsorship – The team at Red River Mutual is very engaged in the community. We support employee charitable efforts through financial sponsorship and by allowing paid time away from the office to perform volunteer work projects.

If you wish to submit a proposal for sponsorship, please e-mail cfriesen@redrivermutual.com for more information.

  • Red River Mutual laces up their skates in support of local charities

    On Friday, November 25, 2011 Red River Mutual staff dropped the puck in support of the Rhineland & Area Food Bank and The Empty Stocking Fund.

     

    RRM employees faced-off in a fun hockey game to raise funds for these great causes. The idea for a charity hockey game was created by the social committee after Red River Mutual was featured in the industry magazine called InsuranceWest.

     

    The article praised Red River Mutual for giving back to the community through charitable and loss prevention initiatives.

     

    A major sponsor of the Manitoba Firefighters’ Burn Fund, they worked with them to build and distribute fire safety trailers across the province. Those trailers cost $50,000 each with Red River Mutual contributing about $600,000 over the next four years.

     

    The magazine also presented Red River Mutual with $1,000 to donate to a charity of their choice.

     

    The company challenged the staff to match that $1,000, which would trigger an additional $1,000 from the company for a total $3,000 donation.

     

    Red River Mutual staff have set out to match the InsuranceWest award and raise an additional $2,000 (total $3,000 donation) through the staff hockey game.

     

    Chad Friesen, Vice President of sales and marketing, said the social committee organized a great event. “They did a really good job building it up,” he said.

     

    Social committee member James Friesen said they hosted the hockey game to benefit the Rhineland and Area Food Bank and the Empty Stocking Fund, and the response was great.

     

    “Preliminary results look like it’s going to be $1,500 from the staff,” he said. That means $3,500 will be split between the two charities.

     

    Friesen said the first ever Red River Cup was invented at a brainstorming session with the rest of the social committee, Kerri Bennett and Erin Penner. “We said how about a charity hockey game,” he said.

     

    The group came up with a plan to announce two coaches, hold a draft day in the cafeteria to form teams and start rivalries. “We were hoping to play it up a bit,” he said. The game itself also included some good hearted trash talking, and even a line brawl. The team Five for Fighting won the game.

     

    Friesen said they give credit to all the employees for making it work. “I’m really proud of the staff who stepped up to the challenge,” he said. Will there be a second annual Red River Cup next year? “It’s already been mentioned to me,” Friesen said.

     

    Total funds raised were $4510.00!

     

    - Article and Picture by the Altona Echo

  • Big Bike Rides Through Altona for Heart & Stroke Awareness

    Red River Mutual came out on Thursday, September 15th, 2011 to raise heart and stroke awareness and ride the Big Bike through town.

     

    Twenty-four riders from Red River Mutual participated forming the Red River Marauders team, including one rider from Prairie Insurance in Altona and five from B.S.I. in Letellier. Spokesperson Joyce Hildebrandt says this has turned into an annual event for Red River Mutual and explains why they continue to participate. The Red River Marauders raised $3,505 dollars, Hildebrandt says that’s about a $300 increase from last year. She adds each year they participate the group seems to increase its fundraising by about $300.

     

  • Insurance West Magazine – Helping Hands 2011 Red River Mutual Article

     

     

    Red River Mutual will be featured in the September 2011 edition of Insurance West Magazine. Here is a preview of the article that was written about Red River Mutual’s community involvement through our Modern Mutual community initiatives. 

     
     

    Helping people avoid loss is more important than profit

    Red River Mutual has set out to emulate the “modern mutual” by giving back to the community through charitable and loss prevention initiatives.

     

    Located in Altona, Man., population about 3,800, Red River Mutual has a history of lending a hand. The company itself was born in 1875 out of the need to help the community. The Red River Valley Mutual Insurance Company was originally formed to protect the interests of local people who had recently immigrate.

     

    The new company allowed neighbour to support neighbour in the event of loss.

     

    In 2010 the insurer went through a re-branding, which included redefining itself as a modern mutual. Also, the company is now known simply as Red River Mutual and sports a new logo. Chad Friesen, VP of sales
    and marketing, says Red River Mutual is on the move.

     

    “Our mission is greater than just profits,” Friesen says. “Our goal is to help people avoid loss in the first place, following the notion that the best policy for to Western Canada. Those newcomers had little access to fire protection. customer and company is the one that is
    never used.”

     

    The company is owned by more than 65,000 policyholders across Manitoba and Saskatchewan. It employs 75 and will post a gross written annual premium for 2011 of more than $70 million. When it comes to charitable efforts, Red River Mutual invests a higher percentage of revenue to community support and loss prevention education than most other companies.

     

    The mutual recently became the major sponsor of the Manitoba FireFighters’ Burn Fund, which is known for its charitable works in hospitals and burn centres. It also supports loss prevention education throughout the province. “We support the Fund because of the close alignment of each organization’s goals,” Friesen says. “Much like our company, the Burn Fund supports those who have experienced loss, but they also invest in keeping families safe from fire in the first place. Our partnership gives back to the community and benefits both organizations by sharing the common message of fire prevention.”

     

    In 2010 the company partnered with the Burn Fund to build and distribute fire safety trailers throughout Manitoba. Each safety trailer will be distributed to a fire department or a mutual aid district to be used as a loss prevention educational tool. The program was initiated in Manitoba but will soon expand to Saskatchewan.

     

    The trailers cost about $50,000 apiece, and Red River Mutual is contributing about $600,000 over the next four years. The first of 15 units for Manitoba was unveiled by Red River Mutual’s president and CEO Brian Esau at the Manitoba Association of Fire Chiefs conference in Brandon in June. Esau pledged the company’s continued support for the safety trailer program, saying it was proud to be backing the education initiative of
    firefighters. He said the trailers will be used at schools and festivals by local firefighters to teach children about the dangers of fire and what to do in case of a fire. There are two interactive scenarios demonstrated in the 31-footlong trailers – fire prevention in kitchens and in bedrooms.

     

    The trailers are equipped with smoke simulators, heat doors and large TVs to provide realistic and interactive training. Firefighters who’ve received trailers so far are The financial “give” from Red River Mutual, he added, is only the beginning. “We try to incorporate our staff in charitable efforts whenever possible,” Esau says. “The company contributes dollars and employees contribute time and effort.

     

    We recently sponsored a Habitat for Humanity home. In addition to the financial investment, we had various staff and brokers onsite for a week working on the home. And in February 2011 we were a major sponsor of the

     

    Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts, a popular curling event. Again, Red River Mutual staff stepped up to volunteer. It’s this partnership between company and employees that makes our efforts really
    successful.” Friesen says the company is currently working on more innovative ways of driving dollars back into all of the communities it serves through its partnerships with local insurance brokers. “Supported by a fantastic group of community-oriented staff and brokers,” Friesen says, “we’re determined to give back in some way to every community we serve.” IW

     

    Click Here to download – Insurance West – Helping Hands 2011 Red River Mutual Article PDF

  • Supporting Fire Prevention and firefighting in Saskatchewan

    fire2Red River is committed to supporting fire prevention and firefighting efforts in Saskatchewan. Recently, Red River Mutual partnered with Cathedral Insurance to donate $2,000 to the Estevan Fire Department and their new fire detector program. The fire detector program is a brainchild of Dustin Sands, one of the dedicated volunteer firefighters. Red River Mutual also recently donated $1,260 to the Moose Jaw Fire Department and, in partnership with Cornerstone Insurance, donated $2,000 to the RM of Buckland Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department.