News Release
Contact
Suki Deen,
Public Relations Associate
320 DuPont Highway
New Castle, DE
19720
suki.r.deen@wilmu.edu
Wilmington University Donates 40 Turkeys and Baskets to the Food Bank of Delaware
Friday, November 21, 2008 - New Castle, DE
Karen Sheats, Don Hagermann and Mary Ann Atkinson from the Human Resources Department gather around the baskets.
Ed Matarese from the Food Bank of Delaware shakes hands with Don Hagermann after all the baskets were loaded into two vans.
42 baskets filled with canned and non-perishable food items crammed the office of Human Resources at Wilmington University’s New Castle campus on Friday, November 21. In honor of the University’s 40th Anniversary, the Human Resources department, with the help of staff and faculty, will be donating 40 Thanksgiving turkeys and 42 baskets full of food to the Food Bank of Delaware. Forty families will be receiving a basket full of food and a gift certificate to the Giant Food Market in Bear, Delaware good for one turkey.
“The University went above and beyond,” said Mary Ann Atkinson of Human Resources, as she stepped around the mounds and mounds of food. “All the employees seemed very excited about doing this.” Right as the Food Bank of Delaware arrived to collect the baskets one more Wilmington University employee rushed in to donate more food. “We actually originally had about 46 baskets full of food,” said Chief Human Resources Officer Don Hagermann, “But we redistributed the food to fill up about 42 instead.”
Five baskets were donated by Wilmington University’s Dover site. Each of their baskets included aluminum foil and linen table clothes. Meanwhile the Alumni Relations Department got creative by donating foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Several other departments donated cookies, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, applesauce, salt and pepper, cake mixes and so more. Each family will also receive a 14 to 16 pound turkey donated by the Human Resources department.
“Giant has been really great in working with us,” said Don Hagermann, “We’ve found everyone at the University to be so giving. We are definitely going to continue this next year, donating 41 turkeys and then 42 the year after that.”
The University had so many baskets that another van was sent to help transport the baskets to the Food Bank of Delaware.
Ed Matarese of the Food Bank of Delaware commented on how great it was to receive all these donations. “Donations to the Food Bank have not been as strong this year as they have in the past few years,” said Materese, Fleet and Facilities Director at the Food Bank of Delaware, “we believe the current state of the economy is to blame.”
Due to the current economic crisis many Delawareans have been faced with hardships including job losses, foreclosures and spiking oil prices. In order to help these Delawareans face the long, hard winter ahead, the Delaware Food Bank along with United Way of Delaware have partnered in a joint initiative known as Delaware Does More. Delaware Does More is an emergency food and funds drive to ask those who live and work in Delaware to give, help and care more.
“The goal of Delaware Does More is to obtain 300,000 pounds of food for Delaware families and $250,000 worth of heat and shelter by February 28th,” said Kim Kostes, Community Relations Manager at the Food Bank of Delaware, “We hope more businesses will donate in the coming months to this great cause.”
The Food Bank of Delaware will donate the turkeys and baskets from Wilmington University on Monday, November 24 just in time for Thanksgiving.
Wilmington University would like to thank the Food Bank of Delaware and the Giant Food Market for all their help and would like to wish everyone a joyous and safe Thanksgiving.
For more information on these donations please contact Mary Ann Atkinson from Human Resources at mary.a.atkinson@wilmu.edu. For more information of the Food Bank of Delaware visit www.fbd.org.