Amber Gallmetzer of Northwest Federal Credit Union in Herndon and her daughter Brianna Runyon help pack sweet potatoes and oranges as part of the 8th Annual Northern Virginia Project Giveback Thanksgiving meals for families in need. Photo by Mercia Hobson.
Northwest Federal Credit Union in Herndon partnered with NOVA Project GiveBack to provide food boxes for local families in need of assistance during the Thanksgiving holiday season. Twenty members of NWFCU and their families shared in Project GiveBack's mission of building community through service as they and other local organizations and businesses joined together at Gum Spring Community Center in Alexandria,Saturday morning, Nov. 18. Their goal? To give back to the local communities where they live and work. And make a difference.
Jeff Bentley is CEO of Northwest Federal Credit Union. Well before the trucks arrived, Bentley stood ready and shared why he was there. "I am happy to volunteer along with my family and several other NWFCU employees and community members to assemble and deliver these meals. I am personally looking forward to delivering meals to families who live near our headquarters in Herndon, as this community has supported our organization for past 70 years...This is one way that I can give back and say, Thank you."
MEMBERS OF NWFCU would deliver 15 of the meals later that day to identified families in the Reston/Herndon community.
Harmonie Taddeo is Vice President of Marketing & Communications at NWFCU. She said that in celebration of NWFCU's 70th Anniversary, as act 62 of their 70 Acts of We in 2017, Northwest Federal had donated $5,250 to provide 70 meals for families in need in Northern Virginia."
On Project Giveback's website, Ransom Miller, III, Founder/CEO of the 501(c) (3) national nonprofit community service organization, states its mission is to provide a vehicle for corporate firms and other organizations to give back to the communities where they work and live. Ransom explained they had set very aggressive goals for the year. The organization sought to deliver 2,000 boxes of food to families needing assistance throughout Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Northern Virginia.
Taddeo said Northwest Federal Credit Union was honored to partner with NOVA GiveBack. "This partnership allows us to live our WHY of serving and inspiring to transform lives and give back to the community that has supported us for 70 years."
Councilman John T. Chapman, City of Alexandria, spoke to the volunteers a few minutes after the trucks began arriving. He assured those present they were going to make a tremendous difference in lives of families, not only those of the grandparents and the parents but especially in the lives of the children. Chapman explained it is vital to rely on the help and support of the local communities.
“As the government tries to do what it can, efforts like this help ends meet. It takes an amazing effort to put this together," Chapman said.
Within minutes, the trucks arrived, filled with boxes of fresh produce, poultry, stuffing, and canned good. All the fixings for a Thanksgiving Day meal with food left over for additional meals.
Mike Kapher, CIO of NWFCU thanked Kia Davis, Project GiveBack's Fundraising chair and her team who worked so hard to coordinate the project and invited NWFCU to join beside them. "I hope this becomes an annual partnership and the work of Project GiveBack continues to expand to serve those in need," said Kapfer.
TO FIND OUT MORE about Project GiveBack and their various other programs, visit www.projectgiveback.org, and to learn more about programs offered by NWFCU and their 70 Acts of We, visit nwfcu.org.