Food Drive Collects 38,384 Pounds for Henderson County
The Letter Carrier Food Drive is the largest single-day food drive in the country, and this year it surpassed the one billion mark for pounds of food collected nationwide since the drive began 18 years ago. Here in Henderson County, we collected, sorted, wrapped, and packed more than 38,384 pounds of food, making this 
our most successful year on record.
Area residents were asked to donate food to stock local food pantries. Three Henderson County agencies—Interfaith Assistance Ministries, The Salvation Army, and MANNA FoodBank—will split the donations equally. MANNA FoodBank will then distribute its portion to the numerous other MANNA partner agencies in Henderson County that take care of those in need of food. In 2009, 106,600 individuals received emergency food from those agencies; 33,046 of them were children.
“Our recent Community Needs Assessment found that, over the past 18 months, 9% of Henderson County residents have had someone in their household go without a meal because there was no money for food,” reported Ruth Birge, Executive Director of United Way of Henderson County. “Hunger has increased dramatically in our community over the past two years, and it is wonderful to see our residents come together in record-breaking fashion to do something about this situation.”
Special thanks go out to the local city and rural letter carriers who took the leadership role in the event by promoting the food drive and collecting the food. In addition, over 100 volunteers from the United Way of Henderson County, Interfaith Assistance Ministries, The Salvation Army, and the community at large unloaded, sorted, packed and weighed the food. These volunteers kept their energy levels up with generous donations of snacks and drinks from Triangle Stop, The Fresh Market, and the Hendersonville Community Coop.
| United Way Wraps Up 2011 Campaign |
United Way of Henderson County celebrated the 2011 Campaign at its Wrap-Up and Annual meeting on January 13, 2011. The event, held at and sponsored by Lake Pointe Landing, was attended by over 160 volunteers, business representatives and community members. With pledges to date, along with projected donations, the 2011 Campaign should finish at approximately 95% of goal, and just over the 2010 Campaign total. Community volunteer Bryce Malsbary, who chaired the 2011 Campaign, applauded the successful effort. “In light of the continuing economic struggles that businesses and individuals in our area are facing, I am very pleased to have accomplished what we did this year. I feel very fortunate to live in a community where people remain generous when times are toughest.” Malsbary added that United Way has received donations from 531 brand-new donors this year. Expanding their donor base and encouraging more households to contribute to the campaign was one of United Way’s targeted goals this year. “I think that if we can continue to spread the word about the significant needs in the community and the incredible work that our partner agencies are doing to meet those needs, we will continue to see new donors joining us in the future,” Malsbary said. Ruth Birge, Executive Director of United Way, noted that the 2011 Campaign does not officially close until March 31. “We are proud to celebrate our accomplishments today,” said Birge, “But we will continue to reach out to this community to try to achieve our goal before the end of the campaign. The services provided by our partner agencies are absolutely vital to this community, and it’s our responsibility to do everything that we can to support their work.” United Way’s Director of Resource Development, Pam Daubert, gave credit to United Way’s volunteers for the impressive accomplishments of the 2011 Campaign. “We are fortunate to have a diverse, motivated and dedicated team of volunteers who devote hours of their time to United Way as Campaign Cabinet members, Loaned Executives, and Campaign Coordinators. We are so grateful for their commitment; without their dedication we would not see this level of success in our fundraising efforts.” To recognize the tremendous contributions of time, dollars, and volunteerism, United Way presented campaign achievement awards at today’s event. This year’s winners include:
The Rob and Ginger Cranford Community Service Award for 2011 was presented to Todd Webb, CPA by Charlie Cranford of Morrow Insurance. The award recognizes a Henderson County resident who supports the United Way of Henderson County, works with other local not-profit organizations, and who best exemplifies the community leadership and generous spirit demonstrated by Rob and Ginger Cranford. 2011 Board Chair, Jerry Maier said, “Todd is a consummate volunteer. He is a professional who owns a business, employs 10 people, has a wonderful family, and sits on the board of many nonprofit organizations. He chaired the Boards at Children & Family Resource Center, Hands On! and Pardee Hospital Foundation. We welcome Todd back to the United Way Board in 2012.”
United Way is advancing the common good by creating opportunities for a better life in Henderson County. If you would like more information or have questions or comments about United Way, or would like to make a donation, contact the United Way of Henderson County at PO Box 487, Hendersonville, NC 28793, call 692-1636, visit on the Web at liveunitedhc.org, or become a fan of UWHC on Facebook. -END- |
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