PRESS
RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Carla Nardella (304) 364-5518
carla@mountaineerfoodbank.com
A Quiet
Celebration
A small, quiet
celebration took place in Gassaway, West Virginia last week; but
real celebration was in the home of more than 260,000 West
Virginians who are on the verge of hunger.
Mountaineer Food
Bank, an America’s Second Harvest affiliate, hosted their annual
volunteer recognition and open house on May 6th to
recognize the work of 267 volunteers who serve more than 2,700 hours
each year. It is the
work of these dedicated volunteers that enables Mountaineer Food
Bank to serve 464 feeding programs in 48 West Virginia
counties. Gary
Butts, of Moorefield, WV was also recognized for his 18 years of
service to the Food Bank.
Butts, the immediate past president of Mountaineer Food Bank
will continue to represent the eastern portion of the state on the
Board of Directors. His
replacement Bryon Minor, of Wheeling, is excited about “the many
opportunities that lie ahead for the Food Bank but knows he has a
lot of work ahead of him to live up to Gary’s example.”
Carla Nardella,
Executive Director of Mountaineer Food Bank shared the following
words with those in attendance:
“Today we are here to
celebrate the contributions of our volunteers and our donors. Celebrations often come with
party blowers and streamers, but that kind of celebration is not
appropriate for those who work to serve the hungry. Hunger is nothing to
celebrate. Our
celebration is a quiet explosion of relief. An emotional explosion that
happens when a single mother comes home and puts a box full of
groceries on the table that she picked up at a local food
pantry. Just yesterday,
she was wondering where their next meal would come from. Now she has food for the
next four days. Now,
she has moved past this struggle and she can focus on her family and
solving other problems.
Today is a
celebration for the elderly, the widows, the widowers and all people
who live on fixed incomes when expenses are not fixed. It is a celebration for the
couple who has shared 30 years of their lives together and now share
the last slice of bread in the house.
This celebration is
for the working family, earning minimum wage, facing rising
utilities and transportation costs. When the only flexible item
in their budget is their food expenses they must choose to skip a
meal or two so that they can fill up their gas tank so that they can
get to work and bring home a paycheck next week.”
Every day there are
8,667 small, quiet celebrations by hard working people, facing hard
times. This small,
quiet celebration is to thank all of our volunteers for their hard
work and dedication to serving all those in need in West
Virginia. Thank you to
all who have volunteered at Mountaineer Food Bank this year. Thank you to all who work
tirelessly in the feeding programs around the state. And thank you to all who
have contributed to our fight to alleviate hunger. For more information on
Mountaineer Food Bank visit them on the web at www.mountaineerfoodbank.com
The
enclosed picture, take by Dale Bollinger is of Bryan Minor,
President of the Board of Trustees presenting a special award to
Gary Butts, past president of the Food Bank.
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