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AT&T employees answer President-elect’s call to action
Kim Nguyen / Staff Photos
Photo One:
Trevor Steele and Areida McIntosh, employees of AT&T, help load boxes of canned and dry foods onto a truck bound for the North Texas Food Bank
Photo Two:
James Wiley, Tara Rose and Areida McIntosh, all employees of AT&T, help load boxes of canned and dry foods onto a truck bound for the North Texas Food bank.
By Kim Nguyen, Staff Writer
President-elect Barack Obama appealed to the American people this week, by asking for all Americans to participate in the annual national Day of Service on Jan. 19.
Share Our Strength and AT&T Inc., along with the Communications Workers of America and the AT&T Pioneers, announced Monday their intentions to take on the challenge head-on by starting two new initiatives in the fight against childhood hunger.
AT&T Pioneers, the industry’s largest employee and retiree volunteer organization, is leading a nationwide AT&T employee food drive to benefit community food banks in 32 metropolitan areas.
AT&T’s Plano office is one of three locations in Dallas for employees to participate in a week-long food drive to benefit the North Texas Food Bank. The North Texas Food Bank has seen a 25-35 percent increase in demand in recent months from their member agencies.
A dozen boxes of canned and dry goods were collected and loaded into an NTFB truck Friday afternoon to mark the annual Day of Service.
“It means a lot to me to donate food to help battle childhood hunger,” said Sean Estell, AT&T marketing manager for the North Texas region.
Estell and his family try to make it a family tradition to perform charitable activities, especially during the holiday season. He said with two children at home, it was easy to go through the household pantry to collect extra canned goods for the company’s donation.
“We try and help out every way we can,” Estell said. “I want to teach my kids the importance of charity.”
Trevor Steele, payroll accountant, thinks the excellent feedback to the food drive is a reflection of the company as a whole.
“AT&T is a very giving company and is always striving to find new ways to give back to the community,” Steele said. “Especially with what’s currently going on with the economy, we were able to collect so much food in just a week.”
To some AT&T employees, there is no other alternative than giving back to the community.
“I could complain about not knowing where I’m going to eat for lunch today, or complain about not wanting to get fast food,” said James Wiley, who has been with the company for nine years. “But then I think about the people where complaint is not an option for them. Collecting food is the least we could do to help others.”
AT&T Pioneers, the industry’s largest employee and retiree volunteer organization, is leading a nationwide AT&T employee food drive to benefit community food banks that serve 32 metropolitan areas.
The food-drive initiative kicked-off in six major cities around the nation: Atlanta; Chicago; Dallas; Hartford, Conn.; Sacramento, Calif.; and Washington, D.C. The collected food will be donated to area food banks beginning Jan. 19. The remaining two dozen cities participating in the food drive will collect food beginning Jan. 19 for delivery to a local food bank on Jan. 26.
“These are historic times. As the Obamas have challenged us to “Renew America Together,” we are very grateful to AT&T for this generous donation of food,” said Jan Pruitt, North Texas Food Bank President & CEO. “With the increased demand for food, this gift comes at no greater time. Because of AT&T’s support, hungry North Texas children and their families will find hope served up at their table. We look forward to continuing our partnership with AT&T.”
AT&T’s second initiative calls for consumer action. From now until March 1, AT&T wireless customers can donate $5 to Share Our Strength by texting the word “SHARE” to 20222 on their mobile device. AT&T will match text donations for a total contribution up to $100,000.
The national text-donation initiative is a coordinated effort between Share our Strength and the Mobile Giving Foundation, a non-profit wireless industry organization. Donations will be used to help provide food for the estimated 12.4 million children at risk of hunger in the United States and will help address the recent increase in traffic at food banks across the country.
Contact Kim Nguyen at knguyen@acnpapers.com
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