Bellevue employee saving lids to save lives

For Rockwell Collins employee Barb Michel - whose sister is a two-time breast cancer survivor - the fight against this deadly disease begins simply with a serving of yogurt.

A quality lead at our production facility in Bellevue, Iowa, Michel was eating some Yoplait® yogurt about nine years ago when she noticed the lid. As part of its Breast Cancer Initiative, the dairy products company donates 10 cents for each lid it receives to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation.

Since that day nearly a decade ago, Michel and her colleagues in Bellevue have gathered and sent thousands of pink lids.

"A couple of our co-workers' families have been affected by breast cancer," said Michel. "Since then, the support has really picked up."

When Michel first began this effort, she mailed about 100 lids each year. These days, that number has increased to about 400 lids per year, and Michel is hoping that number will continue to rise. Although her trips to the post office are more frequent, Michel says it's well worth the effort.

"This is just a small contribution that I hope can make a big difference in the future," said Michel.