North Texas Food Bank: Entrepreneurs for North Texas Event

Hello from sunny San Diego! It's completely acceptable to be jealous... At least until tomorrow when I fly back to Dallas. The weather here isn't the only great thing about San Diego; I've met some really fascinating people and developed a bit of a crush on the city itself. Plus, it's affording me some time to catch up a bit on different goings-on of  my life. Speaking of getting caught up, I'm excited to tell you guys about the recent volunteer work I did at the North Texas Food Bank with a few of my co-workers.

The event was actually scheduled by my company's Executive Admin., which provided me with a nice break from researching organizations and calling coordinators and everything that goes into getting something on the calendar. The Food Bank was hosting an event that Saturday entitled "Entrepreneurs for North Texas." I was really (and pleasantly at that) surprised by the large crowd of people that came to serve alongside their colleagues. Upon entering, everyone gathered in groups to receive a name tag and take a company photo. When finished, we were all herded into the media room to watch a volunteer orientation video and an informational video about one of NTFB's latest campaigns: Close the Gap. The objective of the Close the Gap campaign is to provide at least 50 million meals annually by year 2011. The difference between the amount that NTFB was able to raise from fiscal year 2009 and 2010 was approximately 7.7 million meals. That equals a 21% increase over year 2 of the Close the Gap campaign! With the increase NTFB saw last year, their annual total of donated meals was around 45 million- that means that this year they still need to increase the amount of meals they served last year by 5 million. It's a lot of food, but it is attainable. There are many ways you can help the North Texas Food Bank "Close the Gap" between what people in poverty currently need and what they have access to:

1. Tell others about the initiative and get more people involved.
2. Volunteer! It really is a great way to get to know someone and it costs nothing. That's way
less than going to the movies or going out to eat.
3. Host your own drive within a community that you're involved with- you can do this virtually
or physically.
4. Give money. Seriously, $1 provides four meals. Pretty simple math and it's difficult
to buy four of anything with $1.

For more information, check out the North Texas Food Bank website along with the Close the Gap Fact Sheet, which provides more detailed information regarding this ambitious endeavor and how you can help make it happen.

Until next time, be influential.

AMF