Dear Editor,
My time as president and board member at Second Harvest has come to an end. I couldn’t be more gratified and proud of what our team—with your support— has built and accomplished over the past 12 years.
At our monthly food distributions (which is just one element of what Second Harvest does) we have served over 25,000 people in our community who were dealing with food insecurity and delivered over 2 million pounds of food to those in need! In addition, we’ve offered a variety of free health-related community services, provided pet food in partnership with our friends at Oconee Regional Humane Society, and provided free books for both kids and adults.
We serve around 200 low-income elementary school children through our BackPack Program (ready-to-eat weekend meals placed in school backpacks every Friday during the school year). That program continues to grow each year and we are gearing up for the new school year which begins in August. And, of course, we need sponsors for that program.
Our food distribution and backpack meals program couldn’t happen without an outstanding board of directors and—just as importantly—an outstanding group of committed volunteers, supporters, and donors. And though I’m stepping down from the board and as president of Second Harvest I will continue to be involved Succeeding me as President is fellow Second Harvest Board Member and fellow Rotarian Bill Bonnington. Bill is a great leader and will continue to work with our board—and with all of you—to bring even more success to our mission of serving those in need.
I thank each of you for your support and dedication over the last 12 years. It has been an honor to serve with you as we work to eliminate hunger in our community and I hope to continue seeing all of you on the third Saturday of every month.
Now, the really important stuff: The June food distribution is planned for June 17 starting at 8 a.m. (Volunteers please arrive earlier—see below.)
We distributed food to 145 families last month and we’re thankful for those of you that were able to join us ... you made a big difference in the lives of those families by helping distribute food to both adults and children.
Our location is the Greensboro First United Methodist Church (north campus) in downtown Greensboro. Volunteers should arrive between 7 and 7:15 a.m. to help get things organized, set up, and rolling. We should be finished distributing food by 9 a.m.
Our sponsor of the month for June is a long-time sponsor and great local business: a2b Fulfillment and we thank them for their support!
Finally, we hope to see many of you this coming Saturday to help serve those in need. If you have a couple of hours to give, we’d love to see you there. Thank you!
Special thanks to the members of our local Elks Lodge who showed up last month to help. Also, thanks to the Oconee Regional Humane Society team for always being there to distribute pet food. We appreciate everyone from both organizations!
Sincerely, Reid Conklin