“A company can do well, but it can also do good,” shares Gottlieb. His philosophy, as well as his entire team’s, is believing in the infinite possibility of others and impacting the lives of individuals striving to follow their dreams. They believe that if you can help, you should. Tundraland Cares is their humble effort to positively impact the community, one life at a time. One of those lives directly impacted by Tundraland is Don Hawley. The team recently met Don, a disabled Korean War veteran, who had been having major problems getting in and out of his bathroom safely. As the group got to know more about Don, they discovered he loved the Green Bay Packers, but more specifically, was a fan of Green Bay’s wide receiver James Jones. Last November, Tundraland held a Half Off Sales event at its Kaukauna showroom and brought in four different Packers players, including Jones. They surprised Don with an autographed football and a phone call from Jones who informed him that Tundraland would be doing a free bathroom remodel to make his bath accessible and safe. “If we can make a positive impact in the life of just one person, we are taking part in changing the world,” adds Gottlieb. Currently, Tundraland does one project for a person in need every month. Since its inception, Tundraland has always been a community-focused business.
Singing in the Shower contestants. Painting Windows for a Cause.
Starting back in the summer of 2013, Tundraland participated in Appleton’s Mile of Music, a four-day-long artisan music festival. Besides being a major sponsor of the event, Tundraland had a “Singing in the Shower” display inside the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel during the festival. Once 250 people sang in their shower displays, Tundraland picked a local student to receive a year’s worth of music lessons. This past year, they exceeded their goal of 250 singers by over 150, so Brian added to the program by offering a free home remodeling project for a community member in need. It’s not hard for the Tundraland team to find ways of giving back. For them, it’s a great investment in their community, making it a better place to live and work. A new program launching this spring is Tundraland’s “Windows for a Cause.” As a company that specializes in energy efficient and affordable replacement windows, they’ve collected quite a few older windows from Wisconsin homeowners. Instead of throwing away those old windows, they’ll be painted, displayed and auctioned off; all proceeds will be donated to helping local families in need. This program seeks to bring the talents of local artists, celebrities, community members and education institutions into the spotlight, all while giving back to the community. “The two most important words on the sign outside our building are ‘we are.’ And what I mean by that is, we believe in ourselves and we believe in each other. We are not just a company, we are part of a community. And part of being a community means we give back. What we do is give back. We remember our roots. We remember the days when a lot of people were really struggling so, we intentionally do free projects for people who are still struggling. The real opportunity we have is to go the extra mile and make this community better by helping people in need,” states Gottlieb.
Brian Gottlieb talks with Singing in the Shower participants including Cory Chisel, Creative Director for Mile of Music. Fox Cities Business Spring 2016
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