http://www.ntfb.org A selection of releases to the media. If you have a media inquiry please contact Amanda O'Neal at amanda@ntfb.org en Copyright 2009 Wed, 14 Jan 2009 22:50:44 GMT Wed, 14 Jan 2009 22:50:44 GMT RSS DreamFeeder v 2.2.0 Grant to Fund Unique Collaboration by Four Major Social Service Organizations To Improve Disaster Preparedness in North Texas DALLAS – January 8, 2009 – Communities Foundation of Texas has announced it has established a fund and committed $5 million as a challenge grant over four years to support development and implementation of a Mass Care Response and Disaster Relief Plan for North Texas. The funding from theW.W. Caruth, Jr. Foundation at CFT will support a first-in-the-nation collaboration by the American Red Cross Dallas Area Chapter; the North Texas Food Bank; The Salvation Army, DFWMetroplex Area Command; and the Volunteer Center of North Texas. As the leading mass care responders in the DFW Metroplex, the four agencies have joined forces as a Mass Care Task Force, which has a goal of increasing emergency preparedness from their current ability to shelter and feed 7,800 to being able to accommodate 40,000 individuals. After Dallas sheltered evacuees from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, the four nonprofit organizations formed the task force to strengthen their ability to take action in partnership when called upon to respond to a disaster in North Texas or to serve evacuees from a neighboring community. Disasters could include tornadoes, hurricanes, extreme temperatures, a major power failure, earthquake, drought, terrorist attack, or biological, chemical or nuclear attack. “Dallas gained a lot of experience sheltering evacuees from Katrina, Ike and Gustav, but we had to consider how to prepare if a major disaster happened locally,” said Cheryl Sutterfield-Jones, chief executive officer of the Dallas Chapter of the American Red Cross. “The goal of the Mass Care Task Force is to take the lessons we’ve learned and build upon them to enable us to respond to a disaster on a much larger scale. If we wait until a large disaster strikes, it will be too late.” The task force worked with the City of Dallas to assess risk factors for a number of potential threats. Statistically, for example, an F5 tornado (5 on a scale of 0-5) could affect 250,000 people at various levels, with as many as 40,000 requiring shelter through mass care. The four organizations have been working together for more than a year to coordinate efforts, assign responsibilities and prepare for the next major disaster. Each organization’s primary responsibilities are: American Red Cross manages the shelters, the North Texas Food Bank provides food and drink, The Salvation Army prepares and serves meals, and the Volunteer Center of North Texas recruits and assigns the volunteers needed to assist in the relief effort. The alliance will enable the needs of victims to be met in the most efficient way by coordinatingservices, streamlining communications and avoiding unnec essary duplication of effort. Officials at the Red Cross, North Texas Food Bank, Salvation Army and Volunteer Center said Hurricane Katrina revealed more than just systemic weaknesses in the current national preparedness system. The storm also demonstrated the need for greater integration of preparedness efforts with state and local governments and the private and nonprofit sectors as well. A primary issue was the management of the outpouring of volunteers and contributions of in-kind goods and services that occurred immediately after landfall. “When Dallas sheltered evacuees from Katrina in 2005, we had a lot of duplication among agencies. But with Ike in 2008, we knew exactly what resources were needed and the right agencies to provide them as a result of our Mass Care Task Force planning,” said Jan Pruitt, president and chief executive officer of the North Texas Food Bank. “The organizations in the Mass Care Task Force want to make sure we’re prepared to meet the needs of the North Texas community should a much larger disaster occur.” An estimated 15,000 volunteers could be needed for a major disaster, said Julie Thomas, chief executive officer, Volunteer Center of North Texas, which serves as a clearinghouse for hundreds of area nonprofit agencies. “Our role would be to assess the needs during a mass disaster, recruit appropriate volunteers, then send them where needed.” “Today’s informed donors expect collaboration, and they recognize the synergies that can be achieved when organizations combine strengths to make the greatest impact in a community,” said Major C. Mark Brown, DFWMetroplex Commander for The Salvation Army. “And nobody is more aware than the leadership of these four organizations that no one organization can meet the total need in a community, even under the best of circumstances. This is especially true during a time of disaster when immediate response and streamlined processes are vital." The $5 million Caruth Foundation grant will serve as a lead challenge grant, to be matched dollar-for-dollar, to support a $26.7 million project to create and implement a Mass Care Response and Disaster Relief Plan for North Texas, serving Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, Ellis and Denton counties. The project would be carried out over five years in four mass care service areas: shelter, feeding, volunteers and communications. Expenses include capital items as well as management expenses associated with operating the effort. All management and capital expenses included in the project budget represent costs over and above current operations for each partner. Nonetheless, much of the equipment and supplies to be purchased can be used by the agencies on an ongoing basis or rotated through their inventories to stay fresh. “Communities Foundation of Texas is extremely proud to step in at the beginning to assist the Mass Care Task Force,” said Brent E. Christopher, president and chief executive officer, CFT. “Public safety was a major concern ofW.W. Caruth Jr. when he established the Caruth Foundation at CFT. Four critical agencies are coming together to meet large-scale human needs in an efficient and effective way. For this significant effort, it is important to have stakeholders from throughout the entire community. We hope the grant from the Caruth Foundation will attract the support of other foundations and individuals throughout North Texas.” Plans for a fundraising campaign have not yet been announced. Despite the downturn in the economy, however, planning will move forward. “Each organization in the task force has generous donors – individuals, corporations and foundations,” said Ms. Sutterfield-Jones. “Our experience responding to hurricanes over the past few years has caused many citizens to think about disaster preparedness.With Communities Foundation of Texas and the Caruth Foundation kicking off this effort, we believe others will see the vital need and respond.” Communities Foundation of Texas, a public charity founded in 1953, works closely with donors, nonprofits and other funding organizations. CFT improves lives by receiving charitable gifts, managing assets responsibly and making effective grants. As the largest community foundation in Texas and one of the largest in the country, CFT professionally manages more than 800 component funds, and it has distributed more than $950 million in charitable grants since its inception. Grant to Fund Unique Collaboration by Four Major Social Service Organizations To Improve Disaster Preparedness in North Texas DALLAS – January 8, 2009 – Communities Foundation of Texas has announced it has established a fund and committed $5 million as a challenge grant over four years to support development and implementation of a Mass Care Response and Disaster Relief Plan for North Texas. The funding from theW.W. Caruth, Jr. Foundation at CFT will support a first-in-the-nation collaboration by the American Red Cross Dallas Area Chapter; the North Texas Food Bank; The Salvation Army, DFWMetroplex Area Command; and the Volunteer Center of North Texas. As the leading mass care responders in the DFW Metroplex, the four agencies have joined forces as a Mass Care Task Force, which has a goal of increasing emergency preparedness from their current ability to shelter and feed 7,800 to being able to accommodate 40,000 individuals. After Dallas sheltered evacuees from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, the four nonprofit organizations formed the task force to strengthen their ability to take action in partnership when called upon to respond to a disaster in North Texas or to serve evacuees from a neighboring community. Disasters could include tornadoes, hurricanes, extreme temperatures, a major power failure, earthquake, drought, terrorist attack, or biological, chemical or nuclear attack. “Dallas gained a lot of experience sheltering evacuees from Katrina, Ike and Gustav, but we had to consider how to prepare if a major disaster happened locally,” said Cheryl Sutterfield-Jones, chief executive officer of the Dallas Chapter of the American Red Cross. “The goal of the Mass Care Task Force is to take the lessons we’ve learned and build upon them to enable us to respond to a disaster on a much larger scale. If we wait until a large disaster strikes, it will be too late.” The task force worked with the City of Dallas to assess risk factors for a number of potential threats. Statistically, for example, an F5 tornado (5 on a scale of 0-5) could affect 250,000 people at various levels, with as many as 40,000 requiring shelter through mass care. The four organizations have been working together for more than a year to coordinate efforts, assign responsibilities and prepare for the next major disaster. Each organization’s primary responsibilities are: American Red Cross manages the shelters, the North Texas Food Bank provides food and drink, The Salvation Army prepares and serves meals, and the Volunteer Center of North Texas recruits and assigns the volunteers needed to assist in the relief effort. The alliance will enable the needs of victims to be met in the most efficient way by coordinatingservices, streamlining communications and avoiding unnec essary duplication of effort. Officials at the Red Cross, North Texas Food Bank, Salvation Army and Volunteer Center said Hurricane Katrina revealed more than just systemic weaknesses in the current national preparedness system. The storm also demonstrated the need for greater integration of preparedness efforts with state and local governments and the private and nonprofit sectors as well. A primary issue was the management of the outpouring of volunteers and contributions of in-kind goods and services that occurred immediately after landfall. “When Dallas sheltered evacuees from Katrina in 2005, we had a lot of duplication among agencies. But with Ike in 2008, we knew exactly what resources were needed and the right agencies to provide them as a result of our Mass Care Task Force planning,” said Jan Pruitt, president and chief executive officer of the North Texas Food Bank. “The organizations in the Mass Care Task Force want to make sure we’re prepared to meet the needs of the North Texas community should a much larger disaster occur.” An estimated 15,000 volunteers could be needed for a major disaster, said Julie Thomas, chief executive officer, Volunteer Center of North Texas, which serves as a clearinghouse for hundreds of area nonprofit agencies. “Our role would be to assess the needs during a mass disaster, recruit appropriate volunteers, then send them where needed.” “Today’s informed donors expect collaboration, and they recognize the synergies that can be achieved when organizations combine strengths to make the greatest impact in a community,” said Major C. Mark Brown, DFWMetroplex Commander for The Salvation Army. “And nobody is more aware than the leadership of these four organizations that no one organization can meet the total need in a community, even under the best of circumstances. This is especially true during a time of disaster when immediate response and streamlined processes are vital." The $5 million Caruth Foundation grant will serve as a lead challenge grant, to be matched dollar-for-dollar, to support a $26.7 million project to create and implement a Mass Care Response and Disaster Relief Plan for North Texas, serving Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, Ellis and Denton counties. The project would be carried out over five years in four mass care service areas: shelter, feeding, volunteers and communications. Expenses include capital items as well as management expenses associated with operating the effort. All management and capital expenses included in the project budget represent costs over and above current operations for each partner. Nonetheless, much of the equipment and supplies to be purchased can be used by the agencies on an ongoing basis or rotated through their inventories to stay fresh. “Communities Foundation of Texas is extremely proud to step in at the beginning to assist the Mass Care Task Force,” said Brent E. Christopher, president and chief executive officer, CFT. “Public safety was a major concern ofW.W. Caruth Jr. when he established the Caruth Foundation at CFT. Four critical agencies are coming together to meet large-scale human needs in an efficient and effective way. For this significant effort, it is important to have stakeholders from throughout the entire community. We hope the grant from the Caruth Foundation will attract the support of other foundations and individuals throughout North Texas.” Plans for a fundraising campaign have not yet been announced. Despite the downturn in the economy, however, planning will move forward. “Each organization in the task force has generous donors – individuals, corporations and foundations,” said Ms. Sutterfield-Jones. “Our experience responding to hurricanes over the past few years has caused many citizens to think about disaster preparedness.With Communities Foundation of Texas and the Caruth Foundation kicking off this effort, we believe others will see the vital need and respond.” Communities Foundation of Texas, a public charity founded in 1953, works closely with donors, nonprofits and other funding organizations. CFT improves lives by receiving charitable gifts, managing assets responsibly and making effective grants. As the largest community foundation in Texas and one of the largest in the country, CFT professionally manages more than 800 component funds, and it has distributed more than $950 million in charitable grants since its inception. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ntfb/nnVB/~3/4tYl8a2F-1M/media_01092009.cfm Wed, 31 Dec 2008 18:00:00 GMT Amanda O'Neal manual:1231973444997:18136254138180150:http://www.ntfb.org/mediareleases.rss http://www.ntfb.org/media_01092009.cfm RICHARDSON, Texas – Two hungry relief agencies will benefit from a more than $1 million donation announced today by the Dominion Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Dominion Resources, one of the nation’s largest energy producers and parent company of Richardson-based Cirro Energy. The NETWORK of Community Ministries, Inc. and North Texas Food Bank of Dallas will each receive $10,000. North Texas Food Bank has programs that benefit 917 feeding and education programs in 13 North Texas counties, including food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters, after-school programs, senior citizen centers and other social service centers. NETWORK of Community Ministries, which is also based in Richardson, is a coalition of religious, civic and social organizations that provides health and emergency services to children, low-income families, and senior citizens in need within the area, including food from its pantry that is supplied in part by the North Texas Food Bank. “Since it was founded, Cirro Energy has supported the community with programs such as Forever Funds, which benefits local charities, religious organizations and schools,” stated Michael Rose, managing director of Cirro Energy. “Dominion’s recent purchase of Cirro Energy plugged us into tremendous resources that we’ve leveraged to benefit consumers and the community. As part of Dominion’s $1 million donation to food banks across the country, Cirro will help fund 100,000 meals in our community.” Cirro Energy is a Texas retail electric provider that supplies about 2.3 million megawatt hours of competitively priced electricity annually to more than 50,000 residential and commercial customers in Texas. “We’re deeply honored by Cirro Energy’s generous gift,” stated Britni Cannon, development director for NETWORK of Community Ministries. “We look forward to working together with Cirro Energy to make our community stronger by extending a much needed helping hand to others. This gift gives us a surge of energy to maintain our dedication to transform lives.” RICHARDSON, Texas – Two hungry relief agencies will benefit from a more than $1 million donation announced today by the Dominion Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Dominion Resources, one of the nation’s largest energy producers and parent company of Richardson-based Cirro Energy. The NETWORK of Community Ministries, Inc. and North Texas Food Bank of Dallas will each receive $10,000. North Texas Food Bank has programs that benefit 917 feeding and education programs in 13 North Texas counties, including food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters, after-school programs, senior citizen centers and other social service centers. NETWORK of Community Ministries, which is also based in Richardson, is a coalition of religious, civic and social organizations that provides health and emergency services to children, low-income families, and senior citizens in need within the area, including food from its pantry that is supplied in part by the North Texas Food Bank. “Since it was founded, Cirro Energy has supported the community with programs such as Forever Funds, which benefits local charities, religious organizations and schools,” stated Michael Rose, managing director of Cirro Energy. “Dominion’s recent purchase of Cirro Energy plugged us into tremendous resources that we’ve leveraged to benefit consumers and the community. As part of Dominion’s $1 million donation to food banks across the country, Cirro will help fund 100,000 meals in our community.” Cirro Energy is a Texas retail electric provider that supplies about 2.3 million megawatt hours of competitively priced electricity annually to more than 50,000 residential and commercial customers in Texas. “We’re deeply honored by Cirro Energy’s generous gift,” stated Britni Cannon, development director for NETWORK of Community Ministries. “We look forward to working together with Cirro Energy to make our community stronger by extending a much needed helping hand to others. This gift gives us a surge of energy to maintain our dedication to transform lives.” http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ntfb/nnVB/~3/uOc-nDMuiPw/media_12222008.cfm Mon, 22 Dec 2008 19:00:00 GMT Amanda O'Neal Dominion Foundation Philantropic arm 1 million North Texas Food Bank Feeding hungry North Texans manual:1231970769380:8537949373742558:http://www.ntfb.org/mediareleases.rss https://www.ntfb.org/media_12222008.cfm Souper Bowl of Caring Dallas/Fort Worth kicks off Jan. 7 at The Winston School of Dallas and continues through Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 1 WHO & WHAT For the second consecutive year, Albertsons, Central Market, The Kroger Company and Tom Thumb Food and Pharmacy are teaming up with local media outlets NBC 5; CBS 11; TXA 21; WFAA-TV; Telemundo 39; 94.9 KLTY; and The Dallas Morning News and Star-Telegram as well as the Dallas Cowboys to fight a cause that is important to each of them—hunger. These organizations have partnered to host Souper Bowl of Caring Dallas/Fort Worth, set to take place around the upcoming Super Bowl weekend. The food drive will kick off on Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at The Winston School of Dallas and run through Super Bowl Sunday, February 1, 2009. During this time, customers can purchase a pre-packaged food bag to donate or make a cash donation at one of 217 participating Albertsons, Central Market, Kroger and Tom Thumb grocery stores. In addition, more than 300 local churches and schools will conduct food and donation drives. A goal has been set to raise one million pounds of food. Proceeds will benefit North Texas and Tarrant Area Food Banks, who serve nearly 550 hunger-relief agencies throughout the North Texas region. The Souper Bowl of Caring is a nationwide, grassroots movement of caring utilizing Super Bowl weekend to mobilize youth to fight hunger and poverty in their local communities. WHEN & WHERE Kick Off Events • Wednesday, January 7, 2009 • Pep Rally 6:30 a.m. / Press Conference 7:00 a.m. • The Winston School of Dallas, 5707 Royal Lane, Dallas, TX 75229 Food Drive • Wednesday, January 7-Sunday, February 1, 2009 • Greater Dallas and Fort Worth Albertsons, Central Market, Kroger and Tom Thumb stores as well as local churches and schools. MORE INFO For more information on participating groups, store locations and/or volunteer opportunities, visit www.souperbowl.org/dfw. ### . CONTACTS: NORTH TEXAS FOOD BANK: Amanda O’Neal Public Relations Manager 214-347-9593 (ofc) 972-510-4932 (cell), amanda@ntfb.org Souper Bowl of Caring Dallas/Fort Worth kicks off Jan. 7 at The Winston School of Dallas and continues through Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 1 WHO & WHAT For the second consecutive year, Albertsons, Central Market, The Kroger Company and Tom Thumb Food and Pharmacy are teaming up with local media outlets NBC 5; CBS 11; TXA 21; WFAA-TV; Telemundo 39; 94.9 KLTY; and The Dallas Morning News and Star-Telegram as well as the Dallas Cowboys to fight a cause that is important to each of them—hunger. These organizations have partnered to host Souper Bowl of Caring Dallas/Fort Worth, set to take place around the upcoming Super Bowl weekend. The food drive will kick off on Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at The Winston School of Dallas and run through Super Bowl Sunday, February 1, 2009. During this time, customers can purchase a pre-packaged food bag to donate or make a cash donation at one of 217 participating Albertsons, Central Market, Kroger and Tom Thumb grocery stores. In addition, more than 300 local churches and schools will conduct food and donation drives. A goal has been set to raise one million pounds of food. Proceeds will benefit North Texas and Tarrant Area Food Banks, who serve nearly 550 hunger-relief agencies throughout the North Texas region. The Souper Bowl of Caring is a nationwide, grassroots movement of caring utilizing Super Bowl weekend to mobilize youth to fight hunger and poverty in their local communities. WHEN & WHERE Kick Off Events • Wednesday, January 7, 2009 • Pep Rally 6:30 a.m. / Press Conference 7:00 a.m. • The Winston School of Dallas, 5707 Royal Lane, Dallas, TX 75229 Food Drive • Wednesday, January 7-Sunday, February 1, 2009 • Greater Dallas and Fort Worth Albertsons, Central Market, Kroger and Tom Thumb stores as well as local churches and schools. MORE INFO For more information on participating groups, store locations and/or volunteer opportunities, visit www.souperbowl.org/dfw. ### . CONTACTS: NORTH TEXAS FOOD BANK: Amanda O’Neal Public Relations Manager 214-347-9593 (ofc) 972-510-4932 (cell), amanda@ntfb.org http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ntfb/nnVB/~3/JCMEJM0-ynk/media_releases.cfm Wed, 07 Jan 2009 18:00:00 GMT Amanda O'Neal manual:1205350195865:3509130707947661:http://www.ntfb.org/mediareleases.rss http://www.ntfb.org/media_releases.cfm Select Realty and their Mortgage Broker, Southwest Funding, want to remind you that the Christmas season is the time to help those in need. With the current state of our economy this season is especially important to help our less fortunate fellow north Texans. We want to help as many people this season as we can and are teaming up with the North Texas Food Bank to have several different donation drop off locations throughout DFW from Dec. 15th thru Dec. 19th. Drop off locations are at Southwest Funding and Select Realty’s Office and various D.R. Horton new home communities. Call 972-812-1880 for the drop off location nearest you! Donate at least 4 canned goods or $10 and you will be automatically registered for a drawing on December 20th for a new Playstation 3 video console and blue-ray player. Plus, if you are thinking about buying a new home, your purchase will help the food bank as well…. Because Select Realty has agreed to donate $1000 per home closed in December to the North Texas Food Bank!! For more information on how to make a donation and get registered for the PS3 or how to get qualified for a new home and help the local area food bank… Call Trey Miller at 972-812-1880 Brought to you by… Southwest Funding, Select Realty, D.R. Horton and the North Texas Food Bank. CONTACTS: NORTH TEXAS FOOD BANK: Amanda O’Neal, Public Relations Manager, 214-347-9593 (ofc) 972-510-4932 (cell), amanda@ntfb.org Select Realty and their Mortgage Broker, Southwest Funding, want to remind you that the Christmas season is the time to help those in need. With the current state of our economy this season is especially important to help our less fortunate fellow north Texans. We want to help as many people this season as we can and are teaming up with the North Texas Food Bank to have several different donation drop off locations throughout DFW from Dec. 15th thru Dec. 19th. Drop off locations are at Southwest Funding and Select Realty’s Office and various D.R. Horton new home communities. Call 972-812-1880 for the drop off location nearest you! Donate at least 4 canned goods or $10 and you will be automatically registered for a drawing on December 20th for a new Playstation 3 video console and blue-ray player. Plus, if you are thinking about buying a new home, your purchase will help the food bank as well…. Because Select Realty has agreed to donate $1000 per home closed in December to the North Texas Food Bank!! For more information on how to make a donation and get registered for the PS3 or how to get qualified for a new home and help the local area food bank… Call Trey Miller at 972-812-1880 Brought to you by… Southwest Funding, Select Realty, D.R. Horton and the North Texas Food Bank. CONTACTS: NORTH TEXAS FOOD BANK: Amanda O’Neal, Public Relations Manager, 214-347-9593 (ofc) 972-510-4932 (cell), amanda@ntfb.org http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ntfb/nnVB/~3/JxlXMwHyvKk/media_12172008.cfm Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:00:00 GMT Amanda O'Neal manual:1205178061486:8476912506104624:http://www.ntfb.org/mediareleases.rss http://www.ntfb.org/media_12172008.cfm Agency Calls for Help in Meeting Rising Demand for Food This Holiday Season WHAT: The North Texas Food Bank, which supplies food to more than 900 local shelters, soup kitchens, food pantries, and after-school programs, is calling for help from the community as it faces a year-to-date budget shortfall of $156,000 - - enough to fund the distribution of 780,000 meals this holiday season. Additionally, the Food Bank must still raise more than $1million and 2.6 million pounds of food in December alone to meet current budgetary goals and close the gap on hunger in our community. WHY: Demand from Member Agencies is up by 25-35% in recent months, due to the tough economy and an increasing number of families and seniors turning to the Food Bank for help in keeping food on their tables. “This shortfall means that less food will be available for distribution, further impacting families and children at a time when North Texans need us most,” explains NTFB CEO Jan Pruitt. “While many charities are taking a blow from this recession, it is especially significant to the Food Bank as people facing layoffs, home foreclosure and economic uncertainty are relying on us to keep from going hungry.” WHO: The “new faces of hunger*” profiled in the NTFB’s holiday awareness campaign are inspired by the real stories of people benefiting from services provided by the NTFB and its Member Agencies: The grandpa going hungry waiting for his check… the family going hungry to keep the heat on… the child going hungry every day after school… the dad going hungry after a 12-hour shift. HOW: Supporters can donate funds or conduct an eco-friendly, cost effective Virtual Food Drive on the NTFB Web site at ntfb.org: Virtual Food Drive Every dollar donated provides four meals and 97 cents of every dollar goes to hunger relief programs! WHEN: Upcoming Coverage and interview opportunities include: DAILY OPPORTUNITIES Holiday Food Drives: * Extinguish Hunger with Dallas Fire Department– Bring non-perishable food items to any Dallas Fire Department fire station through the end of Dec. * NorthPark Center is holding a holiday canned food drive benefiting the NTFB. Bring donations to the valet parking stations or inside the Center, now through Jan 4. (Pls call if interested in covering). NTFB: 4500 S. Cockrell Hill Road – Dallas, TX 75236 * *People new to receiving assistance from the NTFB and Member Agencies due to economy * Agencies lining up to pick up daily food orders, volunteers sorting and boxing food * New billboards: multimedia holiday awareness/fundraising campaign on the new face hunger * On-site visuals: warehouse system, Chef James’ Community Kitchen & more For more information, please contact: Amanda O’Neal North Texas Food Bank Public Relations Manager Cell- 972-510-4932 amanda@ntfb.org Agency Calls for Help in Meeting Rising Demand for Food This Holiday Season WHAT: The North Texas Food Bank, which supplies food to more than 900 local shelters, soup kitchens, food pantries, and after-school programs, is calling for help from the community as it faces a year-to-date budget shortfall of $156,000 - - enough to fund the distribution of 780,000 meals this holiday season. Additionally, the Food Bank must still raise more than $1million and 2.6 million pounds of food in December alone to meet current budgetary goals and close the gap on hunger in our community. WHY: Demand from Member Agencies is up by 25-35% in recent months, due to the tough economy and an increasing number of families and seniors turning to the Food Bank for help in keeping food on their tables. “This shortfall means that less food will be available for distribution, further impacting families and children at a time when North Texans need us most,” explains NTFB CEO Jan Pruitt. “While many charities are taking a blow from this recession, it is especially significant to the Food Bank as people facing layoffs, home foreclosure and economic uncertainty are relying on us to keep from going hungry.” WHO: The “new faces of hunger*” profiled in the NTFB’s holiday awareness campaign are inspired by the real stories of people benefiting from services provided by the NTFB and its Member Agencies: The grandpa going hungry waiting for his check… the family going hungry to keep the heat on… the child going hungry every day after school… the dad going hungry after a 12-hour shift. HOW: Supporters can donate funds or conduct an eco-friendly, cost effective Virtual Food Drive on the NTFB Web site at ntfb.org: Virtual Food Drive Every dollar donated provides four meals and 97 cents of every dollar goes to hunger relief programs! WHEN: Upcoming Coverage and interview opportunities include: DAILY OPPORTUNITIES Holiday Food Drives: * Extinguish Hunger with Dallas Fire Department– Bring non-perishable food items to any Dallas Fire Department fire station through the end of Dec. * NorthPark Center is holding a holiday canned food drive benefiting the NTFB. Bring donations to the valet parking stations or inside the Center, now through Jan 4. (Pls call if interested in covering). NTFB: 4500 S. Cockrell Hill Road – Dallas, TX 75236 * *People new to receiving assistance from the NTFB and Member Agencies due to economy * Agencies lining up to pick up daily food orders, volunteers sorting and boxing food * New billboards: multimedia holiday awareness/fundraising campaign on the new face hunger * On-site visuals: warehouse system, Chef James’ Community Kitchen & more For more information, please contact: Amanda O’Neal North Texas Food Bank Public Relations Manager Cell- 972-510-4932 amanda@ntfb.org http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ntfb/nnVB/~3/IF99Ql7-1w4/media_12162008.cfm Mon, 15 Dec 2008 21:00:00 GMT Amanda O'Neal manual:1205178024403:5827657856085956:http://www.ntfb.org/mediareleases.rss http://www.ntfb.org/media_12162008.cfm