Rea & Associates Employees Collect Food, Donations For Local Food Pantries
January 4, 2017 | New Philadelphia, Ohio – During any given week across the state of Ohio, 230,000 people receive emergency food assistance, 35 percent of whom are children younger than 18. And 50 percent of Ohioans are left to choose between paying their heating bill and putting food on the table. These sobering statistics and many others were identified as a result of a comprehensive study conducted by Hunger in America. The employees of Rea & Associates, a regional CPA and business consulting firm, are not content to stand idly by while members of their communities suffer. To continue the firm’s efforts to make a difference in their communities, employees coordinated the 13th annual Help Can Hunger food drive among its 11 offices. This year, the entire firm collected 29,175 pounds of food to be donated to local food pantries across the state.
“Through generosity and compassion, the employees of Rea & Associates have proven their strong commitment to our communities and to the Rea Way,” said Renee West, HR manager and the 2016 Help Can Hunger coordinator. “The food and dollars raised will have a great impact on our friends and neighbors in need.”
Over the course of the food drive’s 13-year history, more than 225,000 pounds of food have been collected and donated to local not-for-profit organizations throughout Ohio. Those organizations go on to disperse the resources to individuals and families in need of assistance.
Winners of the friendly competition are determined based on which office donated the most pounds of food per person. The top three offices would secure an additional donation from The Rea Foundation, which is then given to the food pantry of the winner’s choice. This year Cambridge came in first place and won an additional $500 donation for collecting 360 pounds of food per person, Zanesville came in second and won an additional $300 donation for collecting 289 pounds of food per person and Dublin came in third and won an additional $200 donation for collecting 226 pounds of food per person.
“Rea’s Help Can Hunger food drive is probably one of the most anticipated firm events every year,” said Don McIntosh, CPA, Rea’s CEO. “It’s so inspiring to see our people step up to make a difference in this way, not because they have to but because they genuinely want to. Investing and giving back to our community has always been one of our core values and I’m proud to see that this value continues to resonate.”
The Help Can Hunger campaign takes the form of a friendly competition among Rea’s 11 offices. Employees are encouraged to donate food, money and time to the cause. Every dollar raised counts as two pounds of food. This year, the following organizations benefited from the firm’s effort: Guernsey County Senior Service Center (Cambridge, Ohio); Christ’s Table (Zanesville, Ohio); Dublin Food Pantry and Blessings in a Backpack (Dublin, Ohio); Millersburg Church of God (Millersburg); Christian Corner Community Center (Lima, Ohio); West Ohio Food Bank (Lima, Ohio); Marietta Community Food Pantry (Marietta, Ohio); Salvation Army of Wooster (Wooster, Ohio); Medina County Battered Women’s Shelter (Medina, Ohio); Share-A-Christmas and the Greater Dover-New Philadelphia Food Pantry (New Philadelphia, Ohio); and Saint Gabriel Food Pantry (Mentor, Ohio).