September 12, 2011

Red Lobster Helps Fight Hunger in Central Florida

Author: Sasha Hausman

What do you think of when you hear the words “Red Lobster”? If you would have asked me a month ago I would have yelled “Cheddar Bay Biscuits!!” without skipping a beat (are those the best or what?). But now when someone mentions Red Lobster, I can only think of one word…heart.

Over the past 2 weeks Darden had the pleasure of hosting over 900 Red Lobster Managers from all of the country. They were here for their annual Leadership Conference at the Hilton Bonnet Creek. The folks from Red Lobster reached out to Darden and said they wanted to do something meaningful during their stay here. So that is where our story begins. Read More …

February 10, 2011

Italian Feast!

Author: Maria Diestro

Two weeks ago I was invited to attend the Thomson Reuters National Marketing Convention held at the JW Marriott Orlando. The convention hosted over 600 employees from locations worldwide. On this particular evening, the group was participating in a team building activity. You might be asking: How can 600 people participate in one activity? and why was I even invited here in the first place?

Instead of participating in a quick team building game, Thomson Reuters decided to give back to the community through a service project. What better way to get to know your fellow employees than by having a cooking session with them, right? They decided to have a lasagna making contest!

 During the planning stages we were approached to see if we would like to be the beneficiary of the 375 lasagna dinners. Of course Second Harvest jumped on the offer and began planning the transportation and delivery process for the meals.

That night I started off the evening by saying a few things about Second Harvest and the hunger we face here in our  Central Florida community. I couldn’t believe how many people were there! Each team made lasagna dinners which included salads and cannolis. The teams were headed up by a chef from the hotel who helped and instructed them on how to put together all of the components of the meal.

The employees of Thomson Reuters provided dinners for 1,500 people here in the Central Florida community. What an amazing task done in such a short amount of time! The employees that I spoke to were very excited to be giving back in such a large way. It was great to see a company create an event that was so much fun for its employees while also helping people outside of their group in such an important way. Thanks to Thomson Reuters, 1,500 people in Central Florida received a true Italian feast the following night!

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Jen Gibson
Volunteer Services and Food Drive Assistant

April 20, 2010

PepsiCo Feeds America with National Day of Service

Author: Maria Diestro

When I walked into work this morning I was greeted by 50 PepsiCo volunteers. They filled up our volunteer greeting area and overflowed into our warehouse. One thing I love about my job is having the opportunity to meet individuals and organizations that come through our volunteer center. So why do we have 50 PepsiCo volunteers at Second Harvest today?

Today, MOSAIC, PepsiCo’s African-American employee network is organizing a day of service with Feeding America. PepsiCo volunteers will work in over 30 food banks nationwide to impact over 2 million people. 1,400 PepsiCo employees will generate more than 5,000 volunteer hours in one day. That’s a pretty incredible project!

Second Harvest Food Bank is excited to take part in PepsiCo’s Employee Day of Service. We are one of four food banks in Florida that is participating in this project. The other 3 food banks are in Tampa, Miami and Ft. Pierce. I went around and took photos and video of these employees hard at work.

Second Harvest Food Bank would like to thank PepsiCo for their time and commitment in the fight against hunger.  Enjoy the photos and video!

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Maria Diestro
Online Services and Communications Manager

February 22, 2010

Helping the Homeless

Author: Brady Koch

Two weeks ago our Benefits Connection team participated in Project Homeless Connect at Discovery Church. Homeless Services Network of Central Florida organizes local nonprofits for these events so that the Homeless can receive a variety of services at one convenient stop. In addition to our food stamp outreach, guests were able to receive clothing, blankets, haircuts and more.

Our tables were busy for the entire day. I’m sure the cold and the rain helped encourage people to come inside for a few hours to learn about the public benefits they may qualify for. After seeing the impact this event has for the clients first hand, we will definitely continue to participate in Project Homeless Connect.

Brady Koch
Director of Agency Relations and Programs