Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida received a $15,000 donation from local consulting firm POWER Engineers, Incorporated.
“POWER will be providing 60,000 meals back to the community with their generous donation,“ said Stephanie Valery, Second Harvest’s stewardship manager.
POWER, an engineering, environmental and technology consulting firm, plans to donate about $500,000 to foodbanks across the U.S. and Canada, each in one of the more than 55 communities where POWER employees live and work.
Typically, POWER holds large company gatherings each winter to celebrate the anniversary of how the company’s first employees, their families and the local community pulled together to help restart the firm after a disastrous office fire in 1977. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the parties were canceled this year, and POWER leadership determined that the best use of that budget would be to give back.
“Since we won’t be sitting down together for a meal, we’re going to give meals to others,” said Jim Haynes, POWER’s president and CEO. “It’s a silver lining, being able to turn a disappointment into something good for our communities.”
Second Harvest was selected for this donation by employees from POWER’s Orlando office.
This is the company’s largest philanthropic effort to date, though it’s far from the only one—the firm regularly donates thousands of dollars a year to STEAM education through its foundation. POWER also donated more than $150,000 in 2020 to 45 local schools to meet pandemic-related needs such as remote learning equipment and mental health support for students.
Valery said the funds would go toward feeding the Central Florida community, where 1 in 7 people are food insecure. Learn more about how you can help Second Harvest here.
