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Safe + Sound Week

August 15 – 21 is Safe + Sound Week. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) launched this nationwide initiative in 2017. The goal is to raise awareness and understanding of the value of safety and health programs. It’s also a perfect time to recognize health and safety workplace successes. Organizations of any size and any industry are encouraged to participate. Participation has continued to grow since 2017, with more than 5,300 businesses helping to raise awareness about workers’ health and safety in 2021.

Participating in Safe + Sound Week can help organizations get their safety and health program started or energize an existing one. Safety and health programs help businesses:

Prevent workplace injuries and illnesses.
Improve compliance with laws and regulations.
Reduce costs, including significant reductions in workers' compensation premiums.
Engage workers.
Enhance social responsibility goals.
Increase productivity and enhance overall business operations.

West Bend strongly advocates for effective safety and health programs year-round. Our highly-skilled team of loss control professionals has the experience and technical knowledge to help build and implement loss control programs tailored to the unique needs of each business they work with. Learn more about our loss control services.

Compact fluorescent light bulb safety

There are many benefits to using compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). They can help save you money, use less energy, reduce light bulb changes, and lower greenhouse emissions. However, they do contain a small amount of mercury that can be released into the air if bulbs are broken or not recycled properly.

While CFLs are becoming increasingly popular and present in homes and workplaces, it’s important to know how to clean up a broken bulb and how to properly recycle and dispose of them when they burn out.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides a lot of helpful information on the proper handling and disposal of CFLs, shopping for light bulbs, and the connection between mercury and CFLs.

Silver Lining® Classic joins the fight against hunger

On August 8, 2022, nearly 300 West Bend agents, business partners, friends, and associates came together for the Silver Lining Classic to raise funds for Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin and other organizations that fight hunger in our communities. The Silver Lining Classic is West Bend’s biennial charity event established to support worthy charities that do so much for the communities where we work and live.

This year’s event, which included a golf outing, dinner, and silent auction, was as huge success! We raised more than $500,000, significantly exceeding our goal of $250,000. We were thrilled to present Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin with a check for $250,000. The remaining funds will be distributed to other Feeding America locations and food banks in areas where West Bend does business.

We’re so thankful for the contributions, generosity, and support of our agents and business partners, who made this possible, with many of them traveling from around the state, as well as Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Michigan to help us combat hunger.

Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is the leading local hunger relief organization in the state, providing access to nutritious food. The organization serves rural, suburban, and urban locations across 35 eastern Wisconsin counties. This is essential as more than half a million Wisconsinites face hunger, including nearly 200,000 children.