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Ellen Hoeg has been a major donor to MDI for

the last several years. She joined the Board of

Directors in December of 2013, and also Chairs

the Business Development Committee. With an

MBA from Harvard and over 20 years in senior

management at IBM and other corporations,

Ellen was looking for a nonprofit to support

whose business model was sustainable and one

to which she could contribute her expertise.

“I liked what I saw so decided to support the

mission. MDI’s success is rewarding to me as a

donor.”

This is ELLEN. The Blandin Foundation in Grand Rapids has

been providing support to MDI since 1989.

Charles K. Blandin established the Blandin

Foundation in 1941 to aid and promote Grand

Rapids and the surrounding area. In designing

the Foundation, Blandin emphasized flexibility to

ensure it could adapt to changing times with an

underlying philosophy that its work should lead

to the “betterment of mankind.”

The Blandin Foundation addresses issues

to enhance the economic viability of rural

communities and the well-being of residents.

The Foundation’s management and board

of trustees work to ensure Charles Blandin’s

legacy is served through wise investment and

progressive leadership programs, meaningful

public policy engagement, and grant making.

This is BLANDIN FOUNDATION.

EMP

LOY

EE

Jeremy Johnson started working at Deer

River Hired Hands, a recent affiliate of

MDI, in 2010. Jeremy is responsible for the

production line, assisting with the cleaning

and lawn care crews, as well as going on

routes to collect recycling material. Jeremy

has a stellar employment record. “Working

here is awesome because I like the people.

We help each other out and get along just

fine. We also get paid a meaningful wage.”

Jeremy enjoys exercising and playing Spe-

cial Olympics softball. He also loves to bowl

and hang out with his friends and co-work-

ers. Jeremy’s favorite foods are pizza and

spaghetti. He enjoys watching Wheel of

Fortune; it is his all- time favorite TV show.

This is JEREMY.

Manufacturing | Packaging | ServicesWith Purpose.

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New image Comging from Aug Ash

3501 BROADWAY ST NE STE 100MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55413-1710

651-999-8200 • WWW.MDI.ORG

Standard & Custom Packaging Solutions

Production & Fulfillment Services

Environmental Services

Your Project. Our Expertise.

Cleaner & Greener Communities.

Think Beyond The Box.

63MDI provided 63 new people

with disabilities jobs so far this year!

Nike Shoes has a three-million-square-foot fulfillment center in Memphis, TN, with over 10,000 SKUs (stock keeping unit), 10,000 different styles and/or sizes of shoes. Their racking system did not have dividers to separate product lines, and warehouse workers could easily make errors. MDI created plastic and wire hanging dividers that not only easily differentiate one SKU from another next to it, but gives Nike the flexibility to increase or decrease the foot print each shoe model receives just by moving the MDI dividers to another rung on the racking. Errors are down, efficiency is up.

Amazon is rolling out Amazon Fresh, perishable grocery products. Their Washington, D.C. storage facility’s refrigeration and freezer units were too deep for some workers to reach quickly. With MDI’s engineers a unique bin was designed to fold and insert into the refrigerator and freezer racks, shortening them to more manageable depths. The totes remain durable and reliable in all temperatures.

Knowatom provides curriculum and classroom tools for technology, engineering and math education. Three of their kits use MDI’s cus-tom products. Flat sheets of corrugated plastic provide the base for Knowatom’s rubber band cars, battery cars and hovercrafts.

Nike, Amazon and Knowatom Are Very Different Businesses With Unique Operations. All Three Found A Solution With MDI.

WHAT DO NIKE, AMAZON & KNOWATOM HAVE IN COMMON?

?WHATDOESTHATMEANSOCIALENTERPRISE:

Manufacturing | Packaging | Services

Standard & Custom Packaging Solutions «» Production & Fulfillment Services «» Environmental Services

With Purpose.Fall | 2015

NEWS

Social enterprise is a popular term heard these days in business schools and the nonprofit world. What does it mean? How does it work? Wikipedia defines social enterprise as “the attempt to draw upon business techniques to find solutions to social problems.”

It’s been happening at MDI for 51 years. At MDI you’ll find a mix of people with disabilities and those without, all given a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. For many of our employees, if it weren’t for MDI, they wouldn’t have other job opportunities. MDI helps create self-sufficiency through meaningful work in an inclusive business environment.

MDI manufactures corrugated plastic and produces a wide variety of totes, trays and boxes used by businesses all over the country. MDI offers production and fulfillment services such as kitting and packaging and also offers environmental services such as recycling and cleaning.

IS MDI IN YOUR WILL OR ESTATE PLANNING? Join the Legacy Society by including MDI in your planned giving. Legacy gifts support MDI into perpetuity. It can be as simple as naming MDI as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy or a 401k account. Please contact Peg McQuillan at (651) 999-8127, peg.mcquillan@mdi.org, or speak with your tax advisor.