Food Drive Pays Tribute to Memory of Martin Luther King

Feb. 5, 2009 - Actions speak louder than words.

ERIE Employees not only care about fighting hunger, but by their actions, they show that they’re willing to work to alleviate it.

By donating food and funds to community food pantries in a week-long food drive beginning on Martin Luther King Day, Employees also answered President Barack Obama’s call to honor King’s legacy, “not just as a day to pause and reflect, but as a time to act.”

Employees companywide contributed 3,818 pounds of food and personal care items and $4,568 in monetary donations during ERIE’s Martin Luther King Food Drive last month (see related sidebar).

Compared to last year’s inaugural food drive, contributions were up by nearly a thousand pounds of food and a thousand dollars.

While field office donations varied, Allentown and Murrysville Employees set new giving records this year. Allentown Employees donated 420 pounds of food to their local food pantry, while Murrysville Employees contributed $804 — the highest dollar amount collected by any field office to feed the hungry.

Food pantries express gratitude

In all, 23 food pantries benefited from the food and funds collected.

“We’re thrilled that Erie Insurance decided to assist us in our mission to help feed the hungry,” said Claudia Johnson, communications and advocacy manager, Community Harvest Food Bank of Fort Wayne, Ind.

“In November alone we saw a 205 percent increase in food requests over the year before,” Johnson continued. “Donations are coming in as in years past, but food is going out faster than ever before.”

A similar trend is occurring in Philadelphia, Pa., and Waukesha, Wisc.

“The economy and the cost of food are making it difficult for people to have enough food on their tables,” said Martha Buccinno, senior vice president, Philabundance, the food pantry that received the donations from Philadelphia Employees.

“The need is felt in working families as well as among seniors who cannot keep up with the high cost of food,” she continues.

The same is true in Waukesha.

“While people generally describe Waukesha County as an affluent community, our pantry serves 7,000 people per month,” said Karen Tredwell, executive director, Food Pantry of Waukesha County.

Many people who register for food in Waukesha cite low wages as the primary reason for requesting help; but, in the last three months, the Food Pantry of Waukesha has seen a huge increase in the number of people registering due to job loss.

“Thanks so much for heeding President Obama’s call to serve communities like ours in memory of Dr. King,” said Tredwell. “The example of Erie Insurance will encourage others to work toward practical solutions to many of the challenges Americans are facing.”

Giving from the heart

ERIE’s Martin Luther King food drive collections got off to a somewhat slow start in snowy Erie, where temperatures plummeted to the single digits on Martin Luther King Day, and in Raleigh, where five inches of snow prompted the governor to declare a snow emergency. By the end of the week, however, Employees proved that they weren’t going to let the blustery winter weather deter them from schlepping bags of groceries in for donation.

“I think Employees got excited about the food drive not only because they wanted to honor Dr. King, but also because they wanted to honor the memory of H.O. Hirt,” said Inside Claims Supervisor Barbara Hopkins who coordinated the food drive in Raleigh.

“After all, it was Cofounder H.O. Hirt who said that ‘success in business means doing unto others as you would have others do unto you,’” she continued. “That includes helping those in need regardless of the weather.”

“I hope the Martin Luther King food drive is the start of a new ERIE tradition,” said Leadership Curriculum Project Manager Tesha Nesbit-Arrington, a member of the team that coordinated the Home Office event.

“This companywide food drive underscores Dr. King’s legacy of service to all,” she added. “It’s also a great way for Employees to answer President Obama’s call of service.”

• Print
• Bookmark
• Link
• E-mail
• Share
• Blog