Meet Danielle Monthei, Community Impact Manager
If you only know one person at Van Meter, there’s a good chance it’s Danielle Monthei. She’s equal parts energy, compassion and determination. She’s your biggest cheerleader, your go-to resource for everything, and if she does it her way, her new role as Community Impact Manager might just change the world. Here are five things to know about Danielle and how her new role will be making an impact in a community near you.
1. SHE AIMS TO HELP THE COMPANY GIVE BACK IN EACH OF VAN METER’S COMMUNITIES
Giving back to the places where we work and live is one of the five pillars of Van Meter’s culture and Danielle’s new role as the Community Impact Manager, is aimed to do just that.
When organizations grow larger, they often become corporate and pull out of their local communities. Van Meter, an employee-owned company with 800 employee-owners, is doing the opposite. This new role provides a dedicated person who advocates for communities and organizes the company’s efforts.
“You’ll see me in Duluth, Kansas City, Muscatine and everywhere in between, because we want our communities to know who we are and that they can count on us to help make a difference,” she said. "We’re proud to help power the people and places that power us.”
2. SHE KNOWS THE POWER OF COMMUNITY
Danielle’s passion for helping others stems from the kindness and support she and her family received when she was growing up. She grew up in a small town where she and her sister were raised by their single mother.
“It’s hard to raise two daughters who are involved in everything as a single mother,” she said. “But there were some incredible women in my hometown who stepped up to help, whether that was taking us to and from school, offering us a place to stay or making sure we had what we needed.”
She credited those women for allowing her mother to get back on her feet, thrive and raise two ambitious, driven women.
“Seeing how my mother succeeded with limited resources, besides an incredible community, showed me that if she can do it, then I can do anything,” she said.
3. COMMUNITY IMPACT IS STILL A TEAM EFFORT
Danielle is responsible for organizing community events, but she has also assembled a Community Impact Committee made up of employee-owners across Van Meter’s footprint to amplify those efforts. Besides helping communities thrive, her favorite part of her job is watching her fellow employee-owners flourish.
“Watching their passion and support for what they love is the best,” she said.
Under Danielle’s leadership, Van Meter is amplifying their efforts successfully. Starting in November 2022, Danielle organized the first annual Van Meter Gives campaign where all 25 Van Meter locations participated in at least one activity to give back to their communities. The campaign raised and donated over $60,000 in just 30 days.
4. COMMUNITY IMPACT IS MORE THAN A DAY JOB
Community impact is literally her day job now, but Danielle does not stop making a difference at closing time. She serves on boards for three non-profits in her community—Iowa Giving Crew, Junior League and JDRF. For JDRF, which is a non-profit organization trying to create a world without Type 1 diabetes (T1D), she attends events, raises money in the community and educates others on the incredible technology that makes living with T1D possible.
Why is JDRF so important to her? Danielle doesn’t tell many people, but she has T1D.
“Being vulnerable is really scary!” she said. “It’s an invisible disability, and I haven’t told many people because then they assume you can't do certain things.”
She attributed those doubts to a lack of knowledge and awareness about T1D, and she does not use it as an excuse for anything. If Danielle’s energy and work ethic are an example of what someone can accomplish with T1D, there won’t be doubters for long.
5. SHE WANTS TO BE AN EXAMPLE FOR OTHERS
Danielle is an incredible example of serving others and through this position, wants to make Van Meter an example for other businesses to follow.
“We aren’t doing this because of some financial incentive,” she said. “It’s literally out of the goodness of our heart. I want more people to operate like Van Meter because it’s good business.”
On an individual level, she wants everyone to know they have the power to make a difference.
“People think I’m crazy because I’m involved in a lot of things, but no matter what, you can do something,” she said. “You don’t have to be a professional volunteer and have an event four times a week, but you can make a big impact with just one hour a month.”
Danielle’s motto is “Act as if what you do makes a difference – because it does.” With this role, she will never have to wonder if what she does makes a difference, and if more people acted like Danielle, what a difference it would make.
Would you like to partner with Danielle and Van Meter on an upcoming project or event? Email [email protected], or call 1-800-247-1410 to get in touch.