Last month, employees from our Nashville office put our #DoGreatThings value into action by volunteering with Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, assembling weekend snack packs for students in need across middle Tennessee. Due to economic hardship and food insecurity exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, many students in this area rely on school lunches as their main source of food. To help alleviate food insecurity among students and their families on weekends, Second Harvest assembles and distributes snack packs to provide students with much-needed nourishment on the days spent outside the classroom, and in turn promote health, wellbeing and academic success when students return to school.
Alongside other volunteers from the region, our team of seven packed and organized 280 boxes of food, providing weekend snacks to 1,960 middle Tennessee students receiving free or reduced-cost lunches. The group included: Sarah Bombrys, Carolyn Carter, Hayden VanDerVoort, Kevin Smith, Mohera Narimetla, John Welchance and Dustin Derryberry.
This is the second time our Music City team has worked alongside Second Harvest Food Bank, which also received a $1,000 Community Giving Grant from Urban Science’s annual community focused microgrant program Second Harvest was nominated by Kevin Smith, regional managing director, following his experience volunteering with the nonprofit earlier in the year. The organization, and nine others, received the most votes from employees across the globe, making them our $1,000 microgrant winners.
“While many people think of Nashville as a bustling southern metropolis, they don’t realize hunger is an epidemic within the city limits and surrounding communities,” said Smith. In many areas, one in four adults and one in three children struggle with hunger, and our team feels very passionate about doing our part to continue to make a dent in these alarming numbers.” Expanding our support of Second Harvest, whether through volunteerism or charitable donations, is our team’s way of coming together to promote health and wellbeing for children and families across our community and in turn, strengthen the state of Tennessee by giving our kids – our future leaders – the support they need to reach their full potential.”
Our 22-person Nashville team is a mainstay on the Nashville community scene through its active engagement in community service, and support of local residents and organizations through various volunteerism and philanthropic initiatives. The team maximizes the 12 hours of paid volunteer time given to every employee to use throughout the year and goes above and beyond to make a positive impact on people in need of a helping hand. As always, we salute this team for its continued efforts to drive positive change in its own backyard and beyond.
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About Second Harvest Food Bank
Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee opened its doors in 1978 with commitment from several community leaders. The purpose of the organization was to provide a central distribution center for companies, groups, and individuals who wished to help provide food for hungry people in Middle Tennessee.
