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Major Gift Will Fight Hunger
Anonymous Donor Gives $301,000 for the
Present and Future Work of FOOD For Lane County
Vote of confidence comes with a community challenge.
Eugene, OR (March 2, 2010) – FOOD For Lane County is pleased to announce a major gift designed to help meet immediate and future hunger needs in the community.
This generous donation is two-fold. First, $200,000 is allocated to help FFLC feed more people during this time when thousands of people are still out of work and need extra help. “This unexpected gift will help us feed more people allowing us to better support our current programs,” says Michael Drennan, FFLC’s Board Chair. “We will also do some crucial projects directly related to distributing food that have been on hold because of other, more urgent needs.” FOOD For Lane County distributed a record six and a half million pounds of food last year, and is currently sending out more food each month than it receives. With Lane County’s unemployment rate still in double digits, the situation is unlikely to change.
“Current economic stresses make this gift critically and strategically important,” says Drennan. “This gift from one person’s heart will touch the lives of many people who are served by FOOD For Lane County. Per the donor’s wishes, we are using this opportunity to challenge the community to double the impact of her gift.”
“The donor decided to give anonymously in order to keep the focus on FOOD For Lane County’s excellent and crucial work. She asked me to share that she feels grateful to be able to give at a time when many people are struggling,” says Ellen Adler, the donor’s attorney, who facilitated the gift through the Oregon Community Foundation. “She hopes others will see this gift as an invitation to give too, in whatever amount or way that they are able, to support our neighbors in these tough times.”
The $101,000 balance of the donation will match the money raised for the recently created FOOD for the Future endowment fund. The FFLC Board of Directors believes this community should be secure in the knowledge that the food bank will be here to feed hungry people as long as there is a need to do so.
The opportunity to create the endowment fund came last fall when FOOD For Lane County was named a beneficiary in a local woman’s will. After the Board designated the bequest as seed money, attendees at the fall dinner/auction were challenged to be founding contributors to the endowment. Adler says her client appreciates the importance of FOOD For Lane County’s planning for the long-term so she generously matched the initial FOOD for the Future endowment fund. The result is $202,000 which is being placed with The Oregon Community Foundation in its professionally managed endowment investment funds.
“It’s a privilege to help connect The Oregon Community Foundation’s donors to nonprofits doing great work. Now, more than ever, these connections are vital to our community’s health,” says Jennifer Durand, Donor Relations Officer, in the Eugene OCF office.
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FFLC Names New Executive Director
New leader chosen with a unanimous vote by the board of directors.
FOOD For Lane County’s Board of Directors is pleased to announce the hiring of its new Executive Director, Beverlee Hughes.
“Beverlee is uniquely qualified to fulfill this role after working almost two years as part of the management team,” says Michael Drennan, FFLC Board Chair. “She has the proven skills, management ability, and leadership to solidify the organization’s past successes and a passion that will ensure a bright future for us.”
In the latter part of 2009, the Board of Directors contracted with Bob Hazen, the Executive Transition Services Director and a Senior Consultant with TACS in Portland, Oregon, to assist FFLC with a nationwide search. “By mid-February we had fifty-four applications and we interviewed five exceptionally well qualified candidates,” says Drennan. The internal search committee, led by Jon Texter, President of Essex Construction, conducted multiple interviews and last week the Board unanimously selected Hughes to assume the Executive Director position.
“I am honored to be selected as the new executive Director for FOOD For Lane County. Over the past 18 years, I have served as an Executive Director for four nonprofit organizations. During the last 20 months, I have served in the capacity of Development Director and a member of the FFLC management team. This experience has offered me an opportunity to really get to know the organization inside and out,” says Hughes. “The passion for our mission runs deep throughout FFLC and I’m proud to become the public face of such a respected nonprofit organization.”
Before coming to FOOD For Lane County, Hughes served as the Executive Director of the Salem-Keizer Community Development Corporation for nearly eight years. But she may be best known for her role as President/Executive Director for the Free Willy Keiko Foundation, hired to return the famous killer whale to the waters of Iceland.
Hughes will start her Executive Director duties on April 15th.
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Fresh Veggies Abound at the Youth Farm!
Despite soggy spring, FFLC’s Youth Farm
produce stand will open June 12th.
“Buying fresh, buying local” this summer is not only satisfying, it also can support local teenagers and hunger relief efforts in our community.
FOOD For Lane County’s Youth Farm produce stand will be open every Saturday from 10am-2pm, beginning June 12th. Strawberries, peas, lettuce and salad mix, spinach, cucumbers, carrots and much more are ripe and ready for sale. The stand will be open through mid-October. All proceeds from the produce sales benefit FFLC and the Youth Farm program.
Low-income teens, ages 14-18 participate all summer long in the growing of over 35 different kinds of fruits and vegetables. The majority of the farm’s produce (over 92,000 pounds grown in 2010) is donated to FOOD for Lane County for distribution to agencies countywide to help alleviate hunger and poor nutrition.
Youth-led tours of the farm site are also available. Come learn more about this amazing program and meet the young people who are creating healthy food and community.
The Youth Farm is located on Flamingo Ave., off of S. Game Farm Rd in Springfield. For more information, contact FOOD for Lane County, 343-2822, www.foodforlanecounty.org.
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