In the spirit of giving back during the winter season, Harris & Harris employees eagerly participated in the company’s annual food and warm clothing drive. From the end of October through the beginning of December, employees brought in canned goods, non-perishable foods, and warm clothing like gloves and coats to benefit the many individuals and families in the Chicagoland area who are living at or below the poverty line.
Organizers created a point system to establish donation goals and to quantify contributions: one food item was worth one point; a pair of socks, gloves, or shoes was also worth one point; and winter coats were worth two points. At the launch of the drive, the target was to reach 1,000 food item points and 500 warm clothing points. In the end, Harris & Harris came very close to the warm clothing goal, and donated hundreds of pieces of winter outerwear to the Jane Addams Hull House. Hull House plays a crucial role assisting at-risk populations in Chicago, providing child care, domestic violence counseling and prevention, economic development, family services, job training, literacy training, senior services, foster care, independent living, and housing assistance for 60,000 children, families, and community members each year in communities in and around Chicago.
The food drive was even more successful, as contributions blew past the 1,000 point mark for a grand total of 1,047 items donated – nearly 750 pounds of food.These were given to the Greater Chicago Food Depository, a nonprofit food distribution and training center providing food for hungry people while striving to end hunger in Chicago and throughout Cook County, Illinois.The Food Depository distributes donated and purchased food through a network of 600 food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters to 500,000 adults and children every year.The Food Depository estimates that the Harris & Harris donations will provide 573 quality meals for the hungry in Chicago.
These initiatives were part of Harris & Harris’s company-wide commitment to helping the communities in which we work and live.Time and again, the staff has demonstrated a remarkably generous spirit at every level, and it was inspiring to see the tangible evidence of this in the stacks of coats and cans of food that almost exceeded available storage space. Drive organizers are already planning to set aside even more room next winter, as the firm fully expects to surpass the goals for the 2011 initiatives.
To celebrate the success of the donations, Harris & Harris staff enjoyed casual dress days for the last two weeks of the year.
About Harris & Harris, Ltd.
Harris & Harris is a Chicago-based collection agency. Founded In 1968, the firm has grown to more than 300 associates headquartered in the Merchandise Mart in downtown Chicago, handling high-volume accounts across a variety of industries including healthcare, government, and utilities. It employs state-of-the-art information and data management systems to meet the speed and reporting needs of its clients. Learn more at www.harriscollect.com.
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