What could be more fun for a toddler than squishy beanbags with letters on them? Last week, representatives from United Way of Central Iowa and several of Greater Des Moines’ largest employers distributed 1,000 of the educational toys to 50 United Way-supported early learning centers and home-care providers throughout the metro area.

In 2008, FBL Financial Group Inc. employees completed Search & Find beanbags for the letters A, B, C and X, Y, Z, creating a demand for the rest of the alphabet among United Way-supported child-care providers.

“We initially designed this project to engage our own employees in the United Way Women’s Leadership Connection mission to improve school readiness for children from birth through age 5,” said Nancy Doll, FBL’s marketing communications vice president. “It didn’t take long for us to see that we could do so much more if we reached out and involved other area organizations who are just as focused on building a stronger community.”

FBL’s project partners included Bank of the West, EMC Insurance Cos., John Deere Financial, McGladrey & Pullen LLP, Meredith Corp., NCMIC Group Inc., Principal Financial Group Inc., Rotary Club of Des Moines, St. Mary of Nazareth Women’s Association, Wells Fargo & Co. and other friends of the United Way Women’s Leadership Connection.

“Meredith Corp. was proud to get involved and support this project,” said Deborah Gore Ohrn, editor in chief of Meredith’s Special Interest Media/Creative Collection. “We had a great time making the Search & Find beanbags in our on-site Crafts Lab.”