In 2015, more than 25,000 volunteers donated 85,000 hours of their time to support Tarrant Area Food Bank (TAFB) by sorting, weighing, packaging, delivering food, teaching, volunteering in various learning programs and supporting Team TAFB. As part of our thank you during Volunteer Appreciation Week, Tarrant Area Food Bank would like to highlight a special partnership with a community landmark of 80 years in Fort Worth.
EECU, a community credit union founded in 1934, first started their volunteer partnership with TAFB at the beginning of 2016. Since that time, EECU has committed a group of volunteers to our Quality Control center each month, through the remainder of this year. In total, EECU will have volunteered more than 340 hours of their time in 2016. Not only has EECU donated their time, but they have also generated 9,303 pounds of food to feed hungry families, which they’ve donated along with monetary contributions. For the past two years, EECU has also been a generous sponsor of one of TAFB’s hallmark events, Empty Bowls.
Tarrant Area Food Bank’s Director of Volunteer Services Linda Smith had this to say, “We are delighted that EECU has chosen to partner with Tarrant Area Food Bank to feed the hungry in our community by committing to a monthly volunteer schedule of participation. The support of the business community is critical to Tarrant Area Food Bank. They can play a major role in volunteering, in financial support, in serving on committees and boards, in advocacy and in being our spokespersons in the broader community. All of these are necessary if we are to be successful in serving an ever-increasing population.”
EECU is member-owned and member-operated for the sole purpose of helping their clients reach their financial goals. According to Barbara Walker EECU’s Director of Social Responsibility & Community Involvement, “EECU is a not-for-profit organization, that is, we support our constituents while making our communities stronger in the process. We were founded as a community credit union 80 years ago, working to improve the financial lives of members. We continue to build on that foundation by volunteering to strengthen the communities we serve.”
Ms. Walker went on to add, “Some people narrowly define ‘social responsibility’ as only philanthropy and volunteerism. We view social responsibility as a broad term that encompasses many elements including governance, sustainability related to environmental concerns, community involvement, philanthropy and volunteerism, human resource management and member relations. Our philosophy may be summed up the best in the words of Margaret Mead, ‘Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world. For, indeed, that’s all who ever have.’”
Tarrant Area Food Bank is proud to highlight the outstanding commitment EECU has made to our community, the numerous hours of volunteerism they’ve provided, the food drives they’ve run and their generous sponsorship participation. EECU is committed to sound management and ethical principles to promote financial wellbeing of each of their members while maintaining lifelong financial relationships one experience at a time. For that, Tarrant Area Food Bank says “thank you.”
To learn more about volunteer opportunities at TAFB, visit our Volunteer page.
