July 23, 2008 Atlantic City, NJ
On Wednesday July 23rd, Salesforce.com employees helped the Community
FoodBank of South New Jersey step a
little closer to their mission of alleviating the direct effects of hunger and
poverty in Atlantic City. 61 members of the Professional Services East/Central team
worked together to prepare hundreds of pre-boxed groceries and cans for
distribution to families in need.
Charged with the goal of reducing the number of hungry families in the greater Atlantic City area, the FoodBank of South New Jersey houses a food pantry, supply warehouse and even a community garden which helps reduce the cost of fresh vegetables for their clients. Serving upwards of 300 families a day, volunteers from groups like salesforce.com help to keep the facility running smoothly and make a large impact on the community.
Our day started with Dwayne, the FoodBank's volunteer coordinator, outlining the need for our volunteer efforts. He underscored the impact that our day of service would have on both the organization and the community it serves. "With food prices soaring, the amount of hungry people coming through our doors has dramatically increased," said Dwayne as he explained the functions of the FoodBank. The FoodBank is a last resort for a lot of families and many of salesforce.com volunteers found the experience to be, as one employee put it, "very humbling,"
Divided into three groups, the salesforce.com volunteers were ready to lend a helping hand to accomplish the tasks set before them. Can sorting, grocery box preparation and outdoor work were all enthusiastically completed with assembly line efficiency and big smiles. The salesforce.com team wowed the agency with all they accomplished in the short period of time. There were thousands of cans sorted (with many of us learning how to accurately identify a fruit from a vegetable) and hundreds of grocery boxes prepared in order to leave the Community FoodBank of New Jersey with the capacity to better serve both families and a community in need.
I have to say that in my three months with the Salesforce.com Foundation, I have found myself being inspired over and over again by the generosity and shear excitement exhibited by our employees. Every volunteer activity presents a surmountable challenge met by a willingness to make a large impact on the communities in which we work and live. The amount of commitment given to social change makes salesforce.com employees true beacons of hope.
