Mike Wehrle and Brandon Vanderberg were born in Alexandria, La., and are now raising their own families there. They both work at the local P&G plant that makes trusted laundry brands like Tide and Gain. They also share a passion for supporting the community where they live and work. Through their involvement with two of P&G’s employee groups — Vanderberg leads the Native American employee group, while Wehrle heads up the Veterans’ network — they often come together to volunteer on local community projects. “It’s our responsibility to work together to help out the community we love,” says Wehrle. “We hope it inspires others to do the same.” 

So, when Sara Morace, a 95-year-old veteran’s widow, called her local VA asking for assistance cleaning up her home, Wehrle and Vanderberg immediately offered up their services. One Saturday in December a group of 10 P&G volunteers arrived at Mrs. Morace’s house ready to get to work. The Alexandria community is so close-knit that when Vanderberg arrived at Mrs. Morace’s home, he recognized her immediately: She had been his school’s food service worker. Mrs. Morace was thrilled to see Vanderberg: “I saw so many children grow up from first grade to graduation,” says Mrs. Morace, “and when I retired it was like I’d lost something. So, it was wonderful to see Brandon again.”

The volunteers helped Mrs. Morace with everything from yard work to laundry. Using products provided by P&G like Mr. Clean, Swiffer, and Tide, the team cleaned her home from top to bottom. At the end of the day, the group of volunteers chatted and laughed along with Mrs. Morace over bowls of her famous homemade vegetable soup. For dessert, she surprised the group with some well-deserved peach cobbler after a hard day’s work. 

Wehrle and Vanderberg say that seeing the happiness on the faces of people like Mrs. Morace is what they love most about doing acts of good through their P&G community service events — and helping their neighbors in need brings them joy as well. “Mrs. Morace served me as a kid,” recalls Vanderberg, “and now I had the opportunity to serve her. That’s a wonderful feeling.”

Do you know someone in your community who is going above and beyond to make an impact? Nominate them for a chance to receive $1,000 to support a local cause. It takes less than ten minutes and will help someone’s act of good make an even bigger impact! Together let’s do more Acts of Good.