Giving Food, Giving Thanks: Longview’s Annual Thanksgiving Food Drive
For more than a decade, the Longview and Kilgore Manufacturing employees have been gathering in mid-November to celebrate Thanksgiving with an Employee Potluck and collect non-perishable items for “Longview’s Annual Thanksgiving Food Drive”. The city-wide food drive provides “Thanksgiving Food Boxes” for area families in need.
The annual event is no small undertaking which is largely organized by volunteers who have a heart for bringing people together for fellowship and help this charitable organization. With food insecurity sweeping the nation, more than 44 million people in the United States face hunger. Millions of people in the United States don’t have enough food to eat or don’t have access to healthy food. That number includes 1 in 5 children according to statistics from Feeding America.org, a nationwide network of food banks, food pantries and local meal programs.
J-W Power Company employee volunteers comprised of Paul Stephenson-VP Manufacturing; Dave Ramaly-Longview Plant Manager; Jesse Vineyard-Kilgore Plant Manager; David Broach-Facility Supervisor; Sandra Lonsberry-Administrative Assistant; Rita Mendenhall-Sr. Business Support Assistant; and Margaret Banta-Administrative Assistant, set a goal to collect 1,000 non-perishable food items. The committee set up designated stations to collect non-perishable items around the manufacturing plants and offices in early November for employees to drop-off at their leisure.
The collection of non-perishable items was a success, surpassing everyone’s expectation with over 1400 items donated by Longview and Kilgore employees. Nearly 200 employees and guests gathered together to give thanks and enjoy a potluck feast. In addition, John Dutton-President, presented Paul with a check for the Longview Thanksgiving Food Drive charitable organization nominated by Paul through the J-W Power Company Charitable Contributions Program.
Later that week, Paul and Dave met with a few of the leadership committee for the Longview Annual Food Drive event and presented them with the charitable contribution check and non-perishable items. They learned at that time there was 1,410 families who applied for food and will each be presented with a “Thanksgiving Food Box”.
Thank you to the Longview and Kilgore employees for recognizing this organization and caring enough to give back. Your non-perishable contributions along with the charitable cash contribution from J-W Power Company helps make an impact in your community.
If you are interested in learning more about this organization, visit www.longviewthanksgiving.com To learn more about how you can nominate and request funds for a charitable organization you are involved with, watch for an e-mail in early Spring 2024, about J-W Power Company’s Charitable Contributions Program or contact Lynne Treachler, Employees Relations Manager @ [email protected]