By Julia Weimer
Freshwater has found a long-standing friendship in a Minneapolis print and digital technology company by the name of Bolger Vision Beyond Print. Bolger has been a generous and cherished donor to our water preservation, restoration, and education efforts since the two companies first linked in December of 2009.
“We are a proud sponsor of Freshwater. Their charismatic approach to making a difference is inspiring. We all need clean, clear, beautiful water in our lives and outdoor activities.” – Ray Cullinan, Bolger National Sales Executive
The business was launched in 1934 by John Bolger alongside his wife, Genevieve, when they bought a printing press and soon after started printing materials for their first client—now Minnesota titan 3M—who remains a client to this day. The rest is history, and Bolger has grown into a valued business nationwide, “focused on creating innovative solutions that unify the power of print and digital communications,” and providing catalogs, magazines, brochures, marketing materials, and other custom projects.
The 1970s brought about a substantial shift in the company when the then and now CEO Dik Bolger, John and Genevieve’s son, pushed to prioritize the environment in Bolger’s operations. Caring for the wellbeing of our earth and future generations has been a core value since, and significant actions today include recycling and reusing production materials, reducing waste, and offsetting carbon. Bolger is leading the charge as one of the first SGP(Sustainable Green Printing Partnership)-certified printing facilities in the United States; this means the sustainability program of their supply chain is verified by a third-party organization through environmental, health and safety, indoor air quality, and energy audits every two years with regular proposals for improvements in these areas.
“As we have in the past 45 years, we work to measure every resource we use and reduce them where we can.”
This commitment to the natural environment is evident in Bolger’s philanthropic contributions to sustain Midwestern nonprofit organizations striving to bolster their communities in different ways. In addition to financial support, we have them to thank for bringing our annual Weatherguide calendars to life, printing them for local nature enthusiasts to observe, learn, and enjoy. For those unfamiliar, the calendars are full of regional phenology observations, photography, weather information, and gardening tips from meteorologists, astrologists, naturalists, and gardeners sold online and in retail stores across Minnesota and Wisconsin.
“The Freshwater calendars communicate in a beautiful way that we can all be stewards of our water and the earth.”
Thank you, Bolger, for your steadfast service to Freshwater’s work these past 13 years!