Yardi Volunteers

North Texas Food Bank

By Leah Etling on Jun 21, 2012 in People

We’ve frequently shared news with you here about Yardi Systems’ numerous donations to various philanthropic causes that help people across the U.S. and beyond. Today we’re focused on an effort of people power by Yardi employees in our Dallas, Texas office.

Led by Michael Sheaffer, 20 people from the Customer Service Desk gave their own time on a recent Saturday to volunteer at the North Texas Food Bank. This organization supports hungry families and individuals throughout the North Texas area with healthy and nutritious meals.

“Our team discussed options and we all agreed that we are very fortunate to have jobs and to work for Yardi.  We determined that we needed to do some sort of outreach where we could directly impact those that were not as fortunate and give back to our local community.  The North Texas Food Bank is a very reputable organization that relies on volunteers to ensure they maximize their food and financial donations to help reduce hunger in our local area,” Sheaffer said.

During their volunteer day, the Yardi team was packaging nonperishable food items for delivery to seniors. A regular box delivered to these seniors in need helps them supplement limited foodstuffs that they’re able to afford. In just three hours, 16,000 meals had been packaged for donation.

“We chose the food bank based on individuals in the group volunteering individually in the past and the impact they were able to make.  Our thought was that we would give up a Saturday once a quarter to give back to our community and make sure that we see that there is more to our lives than just the normal 8-5 that we work for Yardi,” said Sheaffer. “Surprisingly, we had almost perfect attendance from our group and we even welcomed spouses and significant others to join us in this event.  We are already planning our next endeavor to keep with our quarterly commitment of service.”

Like other food banks throughout the nation, the North Texas Food Bank has seen a large uptick in need for their services over the last several years and works to stretch the resources they receive from donors with volunteer manpower and careful budgeting. From $1, they are able to provide three meals to hungry people. And for each $1 donated, 94 cents is spend feeling people, with just six cents to administrative costs. Last year, the Food Bank provided access to 33 million nutritious meals.

Thanks to our Dallas office for giving some of their free time to such a worthy cause!