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Boston Associates Say “Yes, We Can” Help End Hunger

Home | About Us | Community Service | At Home | Boston Associates Say “Yes, We Can” Help End Hunger

Boston Associates Say “Yes, We Can” Help End Hunger

Annual food drive amasses 430 pounds of goods to benefit the Greater Boston Food Bank

In 2008, Grand Circle's Director of Business Solutions, Tom Whearty decided he wanted to do something about hunger in Massachusetts. He began organizing a quarterly event, during which volunteers among his colleagues would travel to the Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB) and pitch in by sorting, weighing, and packaging up donated goods. This activity has become a mainstay of the Boston headquarters' community service team.

Then, in January 2010, he expanded Grand Circle's support of the GBFB by adding what has become another regular event: an annual food drive in which all associates are encouraged to bring in non-perishables to be delivered to the GBFB.

"You send an email, and you get replies within minutes," he says in what has become a major understatement. According to tradition, the goal is not even to be able to see the company's front desk by the time donations are complete.

This year was no exception. Associates carried can after can of non-perishable food into the office each day, piling their contributions around the reception area. In all, the 2012 food drive yielded 430 pounds of canned and boxed goods for the GBFB, which Tom and a team of 30 associates delivered personally on January 18. Since 1.3 pounds of food is roughly the equivalent of one meal, Grand Circle's contributions translate to around 330 meals for hungry Massachusetts residents.

Founded in 1981, the GBFB is New England's largest hunger relief organization and one of the largest food banks in the country. Last year, it distributed almost 35 million pounds of food, enough to provide healthy meals to as many as 545,000 people by distributing to soup kitchens, food pantries, homeless shelters, youth programs, and more.

Grand Circle's ties to the organization are strong. Not only does the community service team host quarterly volunteer nights that are fun and rewarding for all involved, but the GBFB's President and CEO, Catherine D'Amato, is a member of Grand Circle Foundation's Community Advisory Board.

Grand Circle Foundation is proud to support the GBFB's objective of distributing enough food to provide at least one meal a day to those in need by 2013.

Featured in our January 2012 E-Newsletter. Read the full issue here.