#ALLNATCARES initiative partners with Thrive Food Bank to feed neighbors in need
Alliant National is thankful and proud to donate to an impactful organization that provides food and hope for new beginnings.
Staying within budget while exceeding expectations is a challenge for all event planners. But Alliant National’s Office of Fun & Festivities’ (OFF) members Julie Murphy and Rebecca Wenzel faced additional challenges while planning Alliant National’s holiday party: how to tie a meaningful contribution to our community into our holiday festivities.
After deliberating and researching viable options, the OFF team decided the holiday party would include hosting a food drive with proceeds going to Thrive Food Bank.
“We chose Thrive Food Bank because it serves a local, high-need population and is a well-organized food bank with a consistent positive impact on the local community,” Rebecca said.
But the OFF team soon discovered how GREAT an impact this local food bank truly has.
Located in Federal Heights, Colo., the Thrive Food Bank’s vision began in 2000 with Thrive Church volunteers going door to door introducing themselves and asking if there was anything they could do for their neighbors.
They didn’t hand out pamphlets or invite residents to services, they simply asked how they could help. The volunteers quickly learned the common need was food; people said they needed food.
Nearly 20 years later, Thrive Food Bank not only gives over a million pounds of free food and supplies annually, but it also gives people a hopeful new beginning.
Tammy Sharron found her new beginning when she moved to Federal Heights with no money to feed her family.
“For the first six months [living in Federal Heights] the Thrive Food Bank fed us and kept us alive. I don’t know what I would have done without this foodbank,” Tammy said.
No longer homeless, she’s been a Thrive Food Bank volunteer for over a year giving back to the service that sustained her family.
Court-ordered community service instigated Ed Lopez’s (above right) new beginning. Ed asked his aunt Angie, the Thrive Food Bank Director, if he could complete his 24 hours community at the food bank.
Ed’s 24 hours has turned into four years of volunteering. He describes Thrive Food Bank as “a beautiful system.”
“It’s beautiful to watch it grow,” he added.
Alliant National is thankful and proud to partner with such an impactful organization.
Prior to its holiday party, Alliant National housed a “donation display” in the office so employees could pick up reusable shopping bags to fill with non-perishable food items and bring them to the company’s annual holiday party.
True to their culture and character, employees met the donation goal.
“The true satisfaction is not just reaching the goal but hearing the stories and meeting the people whose lives are impacted,” Rebecca said. “It truly is more blessed to give than to receive.”
#ALLNATCARES
Tags: #ALLNATCARES, julie murphy, rebecca wenzel, thrive church, thrive food bank