Mueller CPA and Plote Construction raise $60,000 for Make-A-Wish Illinois

When David J. Nissen, managing partner of the CPA firm Mueller & Co. LLP, was looking for ways to continue his Elgin firm's ongoing support for Make-A-Wish Illinois, he turned to longtime client Dan Plote, president of Hoffman Estates-based Plote Construction Inc., to brainstorm ideas.

"Our firm had been a longtime supporter of Make-A-Wish Illinois and Dan's company had been a very active supporter of a number of charities across Northern Illinois," Nissen said. "We were looking for a fundraising vehicle that would engage employees from both companies to benefit a deserving charity, give back to our local community, and provide a fun and enjoyable event for all the participants and supporters. We agreed that Make-A-Wish Illinois and its mission of fulfilling wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions was the perfect partner for us."

With a fundraising goal of $50,000, senior management and volunteers from both companies set out to organize "Bowling for Wishes" and worked closely with Make-A-Wish Illinois officials to establish website awareness pages and host the fundraising event at Pinstripes in South Barrington Jan. 9. Organizers had custom bowling shirts created for participants and supporters and commemorative bowling pins made for top fundraisers, as well as organizing a silent auction featuring golf packages, Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks game tickets and gift certificates from local merchants.

"It was very heartening to see all the wonderful collaboration between Mueller and Plote employees in organizing the event and exceeding our fundraising goal," Nissen said.

Mueller had previously supported Make-A-Wish Illinois' Spring 5K Walk in 2014, raising more than $18,000 to grant three "Wishes" to children for life-changing experiences with their families.

Thanks to the combined efforts of Mueller and Plote Construction employees, $60,000 was raised from the "Bowling for Wishes" event, with more than 200 participants and supporters on hand to help generate $10,000 for each of the six granted wishes. Nissen said that Mueller is already planning for an even larger "Make-A-Wish" fundraising event with other Chicago-area companies in 2016. "We were extremely pleased with the outcome of 'Bowling for Wishes' and look forward to continuing our terrific partnership with the organization."

Mueller is a certified public accounting and management consulting firm located in the Chicago metropolitan area. Since 1968 the firm has provided accounting, tax, assurance, and management consulting services to privately held and publicly traded companies, local governments, and not-for-profit organizations across a wide variety of industries. To learn more about Mueller, visit www.mullercpa.com.