To celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day along with the inauguration of President Obama, the Organizing for America group put their collective efforts forth to help those in need. Called upon by President Obama and First Lady Michelle, this “Renewing America” national day of service on January 19th was a unique way for Americans throughout the country to join together to make a difference in their community. Organizing for America chose to volunteer at the North Texas Food Bank, distribute flyers to the public, and run a one-day Canned Food Drive at local fire stations. This food drive provided over 3,400 meals for hungry North Texans while bringing the community together through service and celebration!

“It felt really good to be part of a group that worked together to close the hunger gap in North Texas.”
-Kayla Cesari, Dallas

"It was a great feeling to know that even though we personally were doing something very small that we were a part of this incredible grassroots collective not only in the Dallas area but across the country participating in this national day of service in honor of Dr. King and our newly elected President."
-Marla Bane

What do you get when you combine creative minds, Christmas cheer, and a passion for the fight against hunger? A Christmas Tree Canned Food Drive! During the holidays, OnMessage crafted a unique holiday Canned Food Drive. The campaign consisted of building a Christmas tree out of cans the employees collected, and the tree was built by employees during the company’s potluck Thanksgiving lunch. With continual nurturing, the tree grew throughout the holiday season, has raised hunger awareness to OnMessage staff and visitors, and has provided hundreds of meals for North Texans in need!

PrimeSource Building Products, Inc. in Carrollton hosted a company-wide Canned Food Drive that happily turned into a Canned Food Surplus! With each department separating into teams, the food drive became a friendly competition that has greatly benefited the community. Because PrimeSource is a construction materials manufacturing company, teams actually hid pallets of food in their warehouse until the last minute, allowing for a large grand finale! The company also reached out to the different vendors they work with to raise funds for the drive. What started off as a few cans quickly turned into 82,380 meals for hungry North Texans!

Sprint hosted a kickoff party to fire up their employees about their upcoming canned food and virtual food drive.  This event featured food, fun and even a celebrity guest!  Burton Gilliam, an Allen resident who was featured in films such as Paper Moon and Blazing Saddles, was invited to sign autographs, hung out with Sprint employees and speak about his experience in Hollywood.  A Food Bank representative also spoke to the crowd about hunger in North Texas and how their donations would make an impact.  Hot dogs, chips and sodas were available to all employees with a cash donation to the North Texas Food Bank.  The hard work of Kim Stewart, Sprint food drive coordinator, really paid off.  At the end of the month campaign Sprint provided over 11480 meals!

The Volunteer Center of North Texas made the most out of their “Hunger Doesn’t Take a Holiday” canned food drive by setting up donation bins outside a Wal-Mart Super Center.  The group hauled in a huge load of food items by strategically placing healthy, high-protein food items in shopping carts throughout the store. Volunteers, dressed as food items, greeted consumers and handed out fliers to encourage them to donate.Their efforts translated into over 4200 meals.

Quadrem, a global emarketplace with offices in Plano, hosted a competition between departments that was a huge success. The small company of 60 employees donated over 3,100 meals to the North Texas Food Bank.  Quadrem came up with other creative contests to raise money for the Food Bank.  They hosted a raffle for Dallas Cowboys tickets and had a contest to guess the identities of their co-workers based on their baby pictures.

Did your company or organization conduct a successful food drive? Let us know! Contact Kim Smith, Director of Marketing, Communications and External Affairs.