VERO BEACH — The Board of Directors of the Indian River Community Foundation traded the board room experience for a morning of stocking shelves and pricing grocery items Fri., Dec. 16 at Harvest Food and Outreach Center. Their actions were part of the inaugural Connecting With Our Community project intended to help foundation board members experience firsthand the most pressing needs in our community.
“Our board members should be able to speak personally with their friends, neighbors and our Foundation donors about the serious issues that exist in Indian River County,” said Becky Allen, board chair and creator of the project. “It’s important that we be prepared to help everyone who is or may become associated with the Community Foundation understand the reality facing all residents of our community.”
Allen said Harvest Food and Outreach was selected as the first site because of the scope and breadth of the work being accomplished through the organization’s grocery cost-share program.
“The reality of today’s economy is impacting people from all walks of life,” Allen said. “Harvest Food and Outreach is doing an excellent job of providing struggling individuals and families with a viable option for stretching their hard-earned paychecks. It truly is a hand-up, not a hand-out.”
Six members of the Community Foundation board, plus the Executive Director, participated including Allen, Sam Block, Ben Bailey, Buzz Wurzer, Alma Lee Loy, Paul Becker and Kerry Bartlett. The group toured the facility, sorted pallets of donated food and worked with members of the Harvest Food staff to price each item. The groceries included a variety of food such as jello, canned vegetables and meats, plus hygiene products and dog and cat food. The items will be sold at one of four grocery cost-share stores currently operated by Harvest Food.
Board member Sam Block said he enjoyed working at Harvest Food and looks forward to future Connecting With Our Community events for Community Foundation board members.
“It is more than just raising money and funding programs. The Community Foundation should be knowledgeable about all aspects of this community so that we can properly convey needs to potential philanthropists and act as conveners, alongside nonprofits, to address our most pressing issues,” Block said. “I truly enjoyed the work detail at Harvest Food. It was time well spent.”
The Indian River Community Foundation is a neutral nonprofit organization with a mission to improve the community through donor-driven philanthropy. The Foundation assists individual philanthropists and private foundations in crafting effective charitable giving plans and also acts as a convener of human resources and philanthropic capital to address community need. With over $9 million in charitable assets, the majority of which are held in donor-advised funds, the work of the Community Foundation spans all fields of interest ranging from health care and social services to the environment and animal welfare.
For more information contact Kerry Bartlett at (772) 492-1407 or visit www.ircommunityfoundation.com.
