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Woodforest Charitable Foundation Donates donates $10,000 to Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina

Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina Receives $10,000 Donation

Photo Caption:Woodforest Branch Managers from across the state joined Kim Marling, Vice President/Executive Director of Woodforest Charitable Foundation; Shay Merritt, Community Development Coordinator of Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina and Jessica Ramirez, North Carolina Regional Vice President.


CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (June 14, 2010) – Woodforest Charitable Foundation donates $10,000 to Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina.

Children at risk of hunger in the Metrolina region is not just a myth, it’s a reality.  Currently, 13.7% of Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina’s service area population lives in poverty, including 130,000 children.  Woodforest Charitable Foundation’s recent contribution of $10,000 will help support the Food Bank’s mission of alleviating childhood hunger through its Kids Café and Backpack Programs.

The Backpack Program is an emergency food assistance program designed especially for chronically hungry kids throughout the school year.  Because of the Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina Backpack Program, children at risk of hunger do not have to go without food when free and reduced-cost school meals are not available.  Every school week, the Food Bank delivers bags of healthy, ready-to-eat food to school sites.  Each participating student receives a backpack to take their food home in.  On Monday, students return the backpacks so that they can be filled again and carried home the following week.  School teachers and counselors say the children often tell them this is the only food in the house for the entire weekend.

The Food Bank also sponsors the Kids Café program.  Kids Cafés provide healthy, nutritious afternoon snacks and evening meals to needy children after school.  In addition to providing meals to hungry kids, Kids Café programs offer a safe place, where under the supervision of trustworthy staff, a child can get involved in educational, recreational and social activities. Currently, the Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina operates 37 Kids Café programs sites.  Kids Cafe is a program of America’s Second Harvest – the Nation’s Food Bank Network, which is the largest charitable domestic hunger-relief organization in the United States.  “Currently, over 130,000 children in the area served by SHFBM are at risk of going hungry ever day,” says Kay Carter, Executive Director of Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina.  “Because of donors like the Woodforest Charitable Foundation we are making real progress.  We sincerely appreciate the Foundation’s support as we work to end hunger in North Carolina.”

Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina strives through education, advocacy, and partnerships to eliminate hunger by the solicitation and distribution of food to 14 counties in North Carolina.  In 2009, Second Harvest Food Bank distributed 33 million pounds of food and essential grocery items to over 600 nonprofit agencies.
For more information about Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina, please call (704)376-1785 or visit the Food Bank’s website at www.secondharvestcharlotte.org.

The Woodforest Charitable Foundation was created by Woodforest National Bank in 2005 as a direct result of its desire to support and invest in the communities in which it serves.  The Foundation is creating a legacy of commitment to those in need, enriching lives and communities through dedicated leadership and faithful administration by providing funding to qualifying 501(c)(3) charities. For additional information regarding The Woodforest Charitable Foundation, call (832) 375-CARE (2273) or visit the foundation’s website at www.woodforestcharitablefoundation.org.

Celebrating 30 years of service and ranked among the top earning banks in the United States, the Woodforest family of banks currently has assets of approximately $3.2 billion and services more than 770,000 customers with branches in excess of 700 throughout fifteen states: Texas, Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. For information about Woodforest National Bank, please call 832-375-2000 or visit the bank’s website at www.woodforest.com.