W+K Cares sent two groups out into the community to volunteer in November. Our digital production team headed to the Children’s Book Bank while HR and Broadcast Production spent the afternoon at the Oregon Food Bank.
For children in poverty, one of the biggest obstacles to literacy development is the scarcity of books in the home. While the ratio of books to children in middle-income neighborhoods is approximately 13 books to 1 child, the ratio in low-income neighborhoods is a mere 1 book to 300 children. The Children’s Book Bank narrows the book gap by providing the community with a place for families to donate the books their children have outgrown, moving thousands and thousands of books into the homes of kids in need. WK’s team of volunteers helped clean books and pack them into backpacks to be delivered to a handful of Portland children.
The Oregon Food Bank works with a cooperative network of regional food banks, partner agencies and programs to distribute emergency food to hungry families. In addition, they are working to fight hunger’s root causes through public policy, outreach and education. Our team was in charge of packing beans! There were Bean-Masters, Scoopers, Bag-holders, Twist-tiers, Box Packers, Pallet loaders, Box-Makers and Clean-up Crew. The entire group packed enough food to provide 11,727 meals for people in need.
A big thanks to all our volunteers. If you’re interested in volunteering at either of these facilities, further information is provided here: Oregon Food Bank, Children’s Book Bank