Wearing Jeans to Work Pays Off: Oakland County Employees Raise $45,000 in Casual Day Donations

Oakland County employees donated over $45,000 to support local charities this year through the county’s Casual Day program. On Casual Day, employees in participating departments and divisions may donate $1 to wear jeans or dress casually.

County Executive L. Brooks Patterson presented 18 organizations with checks totaling $30,000 during a special ceremony Wednesday. Pink Ribbon Trail Blazers, a group that helps provide mammograms to uninsured women, received Casual Day funds for the first time. County employees also gave an additional $15,000 during six Special Casual Days this year which included a fundraiser for the March of Dimes. A Special Casual Day is one that has a designated recipient.

“Our county employees donate both their time and money in many generous ways throughout the year,” Patterson said. “Casual Day donations are just one aspect of the many ways they give back to our community.”

This year’s 18 Casual Day recipients were:

• American Diabetes Association - Southfield
• Canine Advocacy Program - Novi
• CARE House - Pontiac
• Children’s Village Foundation - Pontiac
• D-MAN Foundation - Rochester Hills
• Donate Life Coalition of Michigan - Ann Arbor
• Grace Centers of Hope - Pontiac
• HAVEN - Pontiac
• Helping Hearts Helping Hands - Clarkston
• Kids Kicking Cancer – Southfield
• McLaren Children’s Clinic - Pontiac
• Oakland County Pioneer & Historical Society - Pontiac
• Oxford/Orion FISH - Orion Township
• Paint Creek Center for the Arts - Rochester
• Pink Ribbon Trail Blazers – Lake Orion
• The Rainbow Connection - Rochester
• Toys for Tots - Waterford
• Walk the Line to Spinal Cord Injury Recovery - Southfield

Since its inception 24 years ago, Oakland County employees have donated over $800,000, touching the lives of thousands of people. No taxpayer funds are used in the Casual Day program.

Photo by Yaniv Yaakubovich via Flickr Commons