Archive for December, 2009

December 31, 2009

Last Chance in 2009 – A Message from Dave Krepcho

Author: Dave Krepcho

The countdown clock is ticking! Less than 15 hours remain to make a great difference for others in 2009 …

At Second Harvest Food Bank we realize that you give to charities like ours because you feel strongly about our area’s children, seniors, working poor families, and others in need having access to basic food resources.

At the same time, we also recognize that the tax aspects of giving are not insignificant for most of us … So I thought I’d write  a reminder that a gift of support received by our organization by December 31st is eligible for a 2009 federal tax-deduction. (Consult your professional tax advisor for more details). The quickest and easiest way to ensure that your gift is received and processed in 2009 is to give online.

Today I would like to thank you for your kindness and generosity throughout the year, even as we prepare to close the books forever on 2009. It’s been a year of extraordinary demand for food — the highest our organization has ever known. Approximately 1-in-8 of our neighbors continues to struggle to put food on their tables. At the same time, Central Florida remains a generous community.

Thanks to many caring partners like you, we provided more food (over 21 million pounds) to more feeding programs, serving more people, than ever before this year.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, volunteers, staff, and partner feeding programs of Second Harvest Food Bank, please have a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year in 2010!

Dave Krepcho
CEO and President of Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida

PS: Don’t forget that people in our community are challenged for food resources every single day of the year—NOT just at the holidays. Your gift today can make a great difference for an individual or family that is having a hard time making ends meet in this economy. On their behalf, I thank you!

December 29, 2009

Job Opening: Agency Relations Coordinator

Author: Erin Gray

I am posting a job description for an opening that we have at Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, for Agency Relations Coordinator.  The position is 40 hours a week. Please submit your resume if you are interested in applying for the position to my email egray@foodbankcentralflorida.org.  Deadline for resumes/ applications will be January 6^th. 

Erin Gray
Agency Relations Manager

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Position Summary: 

Responsible for tasks related our recipient agencies including receipting, logging, recording data, conducting monitoring and site visits, and work on development and enhancement of agency programs.  This Coordinator will serve sub-distributors in Osceola, Orange, Lake, and Seminole counties.

Hours:  40 hours per week with benefits.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities:

• Provide customer service for, and act as liaison to all agencies in Osceola, Orange, Lake, and Seminole counties.
• Maintain all contracts and agreements for agencies.
• Conduct yearly monitoring and verify record keeping for all agencies.
• Conduct regular site visits to agencies programs
• Organize, coordinate all agency records and paperwork, and provide reports as requested.
• Help organize and launch other hunger awareness initiatives as assigned
• Generate reports and data on hunger in Central Florida.
• Perform administrative duties as assigned by supervisor
• Administer TEFAP monitoring and recordkeeping in accordance with the USDA contract.
• Cross Trained in Agency Relations to monitor all food bank agencies and programs as assigned.

 Job Specifications:

• Commitment to alleviating hunger
• Understanding of the USDA commodities program (TEFAP & ARRA)
• Bachelor’s Degree or Associate Degree or with equivalent experience
• Detail and task oriented with customer service skills.
• Good time management and organizational skills.
• Proficient in Excel, Microsoft Word, Excel and data entry
• Reliable Transportation and Valid Florida Driver’s License
• Ability to work evenings or weekends when necessary
• Pass pre-employment drug test
• Fluency in one or more of the following foreign languages preferred: Spanish, French, Creole

 Competencies:

•  Problem Solving - Uses different ways of looking at problems or issues and uses a range of different tools of   analysis. Generate  several possible solutions and use evidence to evaluate the best one to provide the best possible course for future action.
•  Agency Focus - Maintain an active interest in what is happening with our partner agencies and the external nonprofit world in general. Keep up to date with what is happening with the community and nationally with regard to hunger relief, and are aware of the shifting needs of different types of organizations.           
• Anticipation/Proactive Thinking - Take change in stride and commit a fair amount of time to thinking about the future and what could happen. Be engaged in information networking and personal learning in order to keep up to date and alert to significant changes in the normal routine. 
• Decision-Making Ability - Posses a strong awareness of what is high priority and that the majority of your time is spent achieving these results as they are important to the program and Second Harvest. 
• Time Management - Able to organize yourself and others to quickly accommodate any significant changes in their workload and re-prioritize them. 
• Communication - Highly conscious of the need to create an open and positive climate in which they can listen and gather feedback. An approachable individual who uses a range of communication methods to ensure that honest information flows freely in both directions.
• Attention to Detail - Highly conscious of the need for accuracy and completeness of your work and that of others. Proofreads and double-checks for omissions, errors and clarity. 
• Dependability - High personal commitment to being consistent and reliable in everything that they do. You tend to go above and beyond what is expected in order to meet a personal promise or commitment. 

Working Conditions: 

70% travel to agency locations: 30% office environment

Disclaimer: 

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification.  They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills of personnel so classified.

December 29, 2009

250,000 Pound of Food Into the Community

Author: Brady Koch

Thanks to the Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation we’ll be able to put 250,000 more pounds of food into the community during the remainder of the holiday season and beyond. The foundation has donated funding to Jewish Family Services, Catholic Charities and ourselves to make this quarter-of-a-million pounds happen.

Take a moment to read Kate Santich from the Orlando Sentinel’s blog entry “What can you do with 250,000 pounds of food? A lot” about the donation. She’s a better wordsmith than I.

 Just to show you how much food this is here’s some different ways to measure the impact of the donation.

• This is enough for 166,000 meals.
• This is more than 6 tractor-trailers full of food.
• This is more than 175 palates of food.
• This could feed a family of four, three meals a day for over 40 years.

 OK that last one was a little silly, but I wanted to explain how much food this is and how much of an impact this makes in the community. I don’t know what the shelf life is for a can of peas, but they may not be good in 2049.

If you’re interested in joining the Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation and us in the fight against hunger, please contact Second Harvest and we’ll be happy to talk.

Brady Koch
Director of Agency Relations & Programs

December 23, 2009

Lost & Found & Donated

Author: Brady Koch

A gentleman just walked into the food bank and handed an envelope with $120 cash in it to our receptionist. He said he found the envelope on the floor at the mall and couldn’t find its owner after working with the mall security.

He felt bad and couldn’t bring himself to spend it, so he came to the food bank to donate it to us.

While it is unfortunate that someone lost their spending money this year, we’re thankful that this secret Santa was able to take one person’s Christmas tragedy and turn it into something hopeful for a family in need this holiday season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brady Koch
Director of Agency Relations & Programs

December 21, 2009

Working Together to Save Winter Break

Author: Brady Koch

This past Saturday we partnered with Orange County Public Schools and the Winter Park Health Foundation to provide food to families this holiday season. The two week break from school can be especially difficult to children who rely on the free and reduced school lunch program. With this in mind, we gathered a team of volunteers, 22,000 lbs of food and marketed the weekend food distribution to children participating in our Hi-Five program at eight of the schools located near our two distribution sites.

 When I arrived at Cheney Elementary on Saturday, there were already some families there over an hour and a half earlier than our scheduled starting time. We had 10 palettes of potatoes, oranges, bread , pastries, and pantry boxes filled with 14 common items like peanut butter and tuna. As the morning went on, we ended up distributing food to 450 families at Cheney and Hungerford Elementary.

A couple of the stories stood out to me that demonstrated how our community comes together in times of need. Two mothers whose families received food that morning returned to our site to volunteer the rest of the day. Another mother, who had no transportation, walked for two hours to get to our site. She was willing to physically carry all of the food back home. Thankfully, another volunteer loaded up her groceries and drove her home.

A father and son rode to our site on bicycles and a pair of volunteers tried their best to safely load the bicycles with any food that they could carry. When another recipient family saw this they offered to take the father and son, bicycles, and food back home.

While we know it isn’t enough food for two entire weeks in meals it was enough to make an immediate difference in these families’ lives. It was a great way to come together as a community and fight hunger in Central Florida.

Brady Koch
Director of Agency Relations & Programs