November Volunteer Greatness

In November, we encouraged everyone to take part in holiday food drives … and Carrington Associates certainly delivered! The support these Associates offered to their local community food panties and kitchens was so impressive, we wanted to share the results and some stories from each office.

Westfield

The Westfield, Indiana, office donated more than 10,000 items to a local food pantry! According to Angela Holder, Business Process Analyst, the office divided into teams and challenged one another in the spirit of competition.

“Daily total updates served as motivation and inspiration to keep pushing to be at the top,” she said. The office is still tallying their totals and should know their official numbers soon.

Windsor

The Windsor, Connecticut, team was challenged to donate 700 items to the food drive, and topped out at 1,034! Andre Harriott, Ops Director, Juan Ochoa, Funder, and Phil Brousseau, UW Manager, delivered the donations to a local pantry they’ve worked with during the past two years.

Maria Webster, Executive Assistant to the Vice President, said, “The wonderful folks at the pantry always receive our donations with open arms. They were very pleased with the amount, as this year was the most we have ever donated.”

Plano

The Plano, Texas, office went all out this year, donating a grand total of 450 pounds of food to Minnie’s Food Pantry! Minnie’s Food Pantry is one of the leading food pantries in Collin County, and has been featured on “The Ellen Show,” “Good Morning America,” “The Talk” and others. For Glenda Shelby, Senior Human Resource Generalist, it was important for their office to support a food bank that serves such a diverse community.

“Our location is diverse,” she explained. “Some Associates drive up to 45 or 50 miles to work, and we sit among six or seven suburbs. So we really wanted to establish our footprint in Plano, show that we’re a great place to work, and that we’re building a culture of commitment, caring and community.”

Glenda said that when they delivered the food to Minnie’s, they were greeted by a man named Uncle Rudy, who told them he was incredibly grateful for their donations, and then treated everyone to an in-depth tour of the facility.

Jacksonville

In Jacksonville, Florida, the Carrington team volunteered their time over the course of two days and served 770 people at the Clara White Mission Soup Kitchen. Jawana Thomas, Director MLD Retail RSC Ops, said, “Jacoby Pittman, the Director for the Clara White Mission, was extremely impressed when we showed up to serve breakfast on a second day within a week, with double the amount of volunteers.”

Their volunteer efforts were such a success that they went back to Clara’s on Dec. 1 for Operation Homefront Holiday Meals for the Military on Dec. 1. This initiative encourages Jacksonville Associates to connect with their volunteer committee, which meets monthly to create new giving opportunities.

“It is indeed and honor to work with such an amazing group of caring individuals,” said Jawana.

Towson

Our Towson, Maryland, office put together a food drive in conjunction with Konkrete Jungle Kustom Tattoo, which works in conjunction with a local church to help feed deserving families. Loan Processor Elizabeth Green has participated in this initiative for the past four years, and knew her team at Carrington would want to get involved.

“This is a local business, opened by someone in my neighborhood, which works with a local church to feed families who have been displaced and need support,” she said. “It started with 12 families, but now they’re up to 30.”

In just one week, Elizabeth was able to purchase 12 turkeys and donate 20 bags of groceries with help from Carrington Associates.

“People really came together quickly,” Elizabeth said. “And everyone was so thankful and very excited − especially for the turkeys!”

Oceanside

And lastly, in Oceanside, California, the Carrington team once again supported Brother Benno’s Center – which has become an annual tradition. Paul Yurczyk, Associate Director of Collateral Analysis for CCM, said that the office – including their due diligence contractors – bought 16 turkeys to donate to the organization.

Brother Benno’s started as a soup kitchen in 1983, but then expanded to offering transitional services for the poor and homeless in San Diego North County. Not only do they offer meals, but they also have clothing, transitional housing and other support, including a six-month residential recovery program. Plus, they deliver 150 food boxes every month to Camp Pendleton.

“It was a very rewarding experience,” Paul said.

Congratulations to everyone who participated in November’s holiday food drives and who worked so hard to make a difference in the community! We know your communities appreciated it as much as we do, if not more!

Plano, Texas, Associates donated a grand total of 450 pounds of food to Minnie’s Food Pantry.

Westfield Associates needed a wide-angle lens to capture the more than 10,000 items they donated to a local food pantry.

The Windsor team delivered 1,034 food items to a local pantry they’ve worked with for the past two years.

Jacksonville Associates volunteerred their time to feed the hungry at the Clara White Soup Kitchen.

Towson, Maryland, Associates teamed up with Konkrete Jungle Kustom Tattoo to help feed deserving families.

Associates in Oceanside once again supported Brother Benno’s Center, in what has become an annual tradition.