UniSource employees helped fight hunger this summer by participating in a company drive that collected 7,624 pounds of food for local charities in communities statewide.
From June 1 – 15, we challenged employees in all our offices to contribute essential food items to alleviate community needs during the summer months. In the Help Us Can Summer Hunger drive, our seven offices competed against each other based on the total weight of donated food per employee in each location.
Our Lake Havasu City office finished first, followed by the Cottonwood office and the Show Low office.
“I am deeply moved by the dedication and generosity shown by our teams throughout Help Us Can Summer Hunger. Seeing everyone come together to support families in need with essential items has been incredibly meaningful,” said Terry Nay, Vice President of Energy Resources, who led the food drive.
The drive spurred a friendly competition among employees in different offices.
“From canned goods to jars of peanut butter and other nourishing treats, the generosity of our teams knew no bounds. Every contribution made a difference, and every ounce counted towards alleviating hunger right here in our neighborhoods,” said Tara Barrera, UniSource Community Program Coordinator.
Show Low office employees delivered their food to the White Mountain Community Center in Pinetop-Lakeside on June 28. Employees Ben Matthews and Phillip Rose went shopping for much-needed items, while other colleagues donated from their own pantries, Ben said.
Megan Campbell, the center’s director, said she was grateful for the donation, particularly since the local population doubles or triples over the summer as visitors escape the heat elsewhere in the state. While some visitors enjoy large vacation homes, others, especially seniors, bring their RVs up to live in the mountain community.
“We have a population influx with our senior community in the summertime, so our summers are actually busier than the holidays. Summer is also a busy season because kids are out of school, and we provide free sack lunches to not just the kids, but anyone in need,” Campbell said. “We have so many people showing up for food boxes this time of year that we run out of food the second week of the month.”
In addition to the food drive, employees also regularly volunteer at food banks and make other contributions to their success.
For example, employee volunteers in UniSource’s Flagstaff office recently directed a $5,000 corporate donation to the Flagstaff Family Food Center to help kick off a capital campaign.
In Cottonwood’s Old Town Mission, employees recently helped serve dinner, donated school backpacks, and directed a $2,000 corporate contribution to the cause. All UniSource contributions come from corporate resources and are not recovered through customers’ rates.
The organization recipients are:
- Cottonwood – Old Town Mission
- Flagstaff – Flagstaff Family Food Center
- Kingman – Kingman Area Food Bank
- Lake Havasu City – Havasu Community Health Foundation Food Bank
- Nogales – Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona
- Prescott – Prescott Community Cupboard Food Bank
- Show Low – White Mountain Community Center
