Shirley Dolland – a General Mills Service Hero

When Betty Crocker Kitchen Manager, Shirley Dolland, heard her daughter Erica's idea to help Ghanaian women generate income for their families, Shirley knew that she had to help. With Erica at the helm, they founded the "Women of Juaso Project." This service effort was established in Ghana, West Africa to help local women generate income to improve themselves and their families through soap making.

Erica, Shirley, and their team created the Web site – www.cocoawomenofjuaso.com – to drive donations for the project, which helped purchase modernized soap making equipment for the women. As the heads of their households in this impoverished area, more than 50 women showed up on the first day of the program. They were eager to participate and to make money to help their families.

As Erica worked from West Africa, Shirley worked diligently from her home in the United States to provide resources to start and maintain the program. Then, in February 2007, Shirley traveled to Ghana to witness firsthand the fruits of their labor. Shirley was overwhelmed by the poverty and need, but was empowered to continue helping. While their roles felt small, it was at that moment that Shirley realized the impact of the Project.

"A small, helping hand is sometimes all it takes to make a big difference in someone's life," said Shirley. "I am fortunate to have gone to Ghana to help those beautiful women, and am happy to have been a part of it.

Kudos to Shirley, and Erica, for their acts of service!

Kimberley Bow Sundy – a General Mills Service Hero

Kimberley Bow Sundy, Multicultural Marketing and Public Relations manager, is passionate about helping people reduce risks associated with heart-related diseases. After watching both her grandmother and father suffer from heart disease, Kim knew she wanted to take a proactive approach toward helping others reduce their cholesterol. She specifically chose to target African-American women because their cholesterol levels are traditionally higher than women of other ethnicities. When Kim started working with the Cheerios brand team and discovered that Cheerios is the only cold cereal clinically proven to lower cholesterol, she knew the brand was poised to establish a relevant conversation between the brand and its black consumers.

Kim partnered with the Honey Nut Cheerios® brand to create "Sisters Saving Hearts," a grant-giving initiative that recognizes heart health-inspiring heroes in the African-American community. Throughout the three-year initiative, Sisters Saving Hearts and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation has recognized individuals and organizations who are dedicating their time and resources to educating African-Americans on ways to reduce heart disease. Honorees receive $5,000 grants to donate to the charities of their choice.

Kim's service to her community doesn't stop with Sisters Saving Hearts. She is also an active member of the Junior League, where she has partnered with the mayor of Minneapolis to facilitate its "Books for Kids," project, a program designed to improve children's literacy in Minneapolis and to support parent-child reading. As committee chair, Kim collected more than 50,000 books for at-risk youth. Kim believes it's important to help families make positive changes for themselves. Her parents always told her that "to whom much is given, much is required." Kim feels blessed to be able to give back to the community that has given her so much.

Kudos to Kim for her acts of service!

Kira Bunch – a General Mills Service Hero

Kira Bunch, business trade manager for the Baking, Meals, and SPF team, is dedicated to serving her community. She recently lent many hours to the Ozark Literacy Council, a non-profit organization that helps improve the literacy skills of people from other countries. As an English as a Second Language (ESL) tutor, she volunteered up to six hours per week, working one-on-one with participants. As a tutor, she created lesson plans to further her mentee’s reading and grammar skills as they prepared for the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) exam.

Kira has also served as a reading buddy. In this capacity, she’s paired with second grade students to assist with reading and grammar skills development. She meets with them once a month and strives to help improve their levels of confidence and written and verbal skills. To encourage them in her absence, she sends cards and letters to remind them that reading is not only beneficial, but fun!

Kudos to Kira for her acts of service!