News & Updates


Federated Insurance Donates $400,000 to Local BBBS Chapter

Owatonna

Federated Challenge gives $400K to Big Brothers Big Sisters Representatives from Federated Insurance recently presented a check for $400,000 to the Owatonna-based Southern Minnesota chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters.

The donation, which comes from funds that were raised this past August at the Federated Challenge for Kids of Minnesota, represents the single largest donation in the organization’s history.

“The generosity of Federated Insurance is overwhelming,” said Greg Zweber, director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Minnesota. “The need we have in our community to reach out to children continues to grow. The support of community partners like Federated enables Big Brothers Big Sisters to fulfill our mission to enrich the lives of children and help them reach their full potential through professionally supported one-to-one mentoring relationships. Mr. and Mrs. Annexstad and the entire Federated organization have set an incredible example of what it means to give back to one’s community.”

The Federated Challenge was inspired by Federated’s Chairman Al Annexstad and his wife Cathy, principally to raise money to support the efforts of the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization in Minnesota to provide one-to-one mentoring relationships between disadvantaged children and caring adults. The two-day event, hosted by Federated and presenting sponsor Starkey Hearing Foundation, was held in the Twin Cities area and was supported and attended by several of Minnesota’s and our nation’s most respected corporate and private citizens, Federated officials said. 

“From the very first day the Federated Challenge has been all about helping kids,” Annexstad said. “The impact that the right adult role models can have on a child can be life-altering. Most of us as youngsters have had the great benefit of having the stability of this adult presence in our lives. Unfortunately, this is not the case for a lot of kids today.  Cathy and I, the Federated organization, and our growing list of sponsors are proud to support the fine work that Big Brothers Big Sisters is doing in our community and in our state.”

Three agencies of the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization are currently headquartered in Minnesota: the Twin Cities agency in St. Paul, the Central Minnesota agency in St. Cloud and the Southern Minnesota agency in Owatonna. Together these agencies serve more than 5,000 children in the state, with several hundred more on waiting lists to be matched with adult mentors.