Atlanta Community Food Bank Honors Volunteers

ATLANTA (May 21, 2015) – In honor of National Volunteer Week, the Atlanta Community Food Bank (ACFB) recently rolled out the red carpet for their stellar volunteers by hosting several events to thank them for giving back to the community. Whether they sorted cans in the Product Rescue Center, restocked shelves at Kids In Need or tended to fresh produce in the Community Gardens, ACFB volunteers were a large part of the organization’s success this year.

The celebration included the annual Atlanta Community Food Bank Volunteer Service awards on Thursday, May 14, highlighting some outstanding volunteers and organizations whose dedicated hours help support the Food Bank’s mission to fight hunger by engaging, educating and empowering the community.

The Presidential Volunteer Service Award is the premier volunteer awards program, encouraging U.S. citizens and lawfully admitted permanent residents through recognition to live a life of service. Below is a list of this year’s recipients, including many of Atlanta’s top corporations and local businesses.

The tiered system of awards is based on the number of cumulative hours the group volunteered over a 12 month period. Gold recipients volunteered 1,000 hours or more, Silver volunteered 500 to 999 hours and Bronze volunteered 200 to 499 hours.

Gold Level Award Recipients are:

· Alston & Bird Law Firm

· AT&T

· The Coca-Cola Company

· Cox Automotive

· People Making Progress

· Randstad

Silver Level Award Recipients are:

· Cisco Systems, Inc.

· Cobb Douglas

· Focus Brands

· Hands On Atlanta

· SunTrust Bank

· UPS

Bronze Level Award Recipients are:

· Ally Financial

· Atlanta Braves

· Atlanta Jewish Federation

· Congregation Or-Hadash

· General Motors

· HD Supply

· Home Depot

· Intercontinental Hotel Group

· King & Spalding Law Firm

· Junior League of Greater Atlanta

· Liberty Mutual

· Pace Academy

· Peachtree Presbyterian Church

· Side by Side Brain Injury Clubhouse

· Spelman College

· Tzu Chi Foundation

· Wells Fargo

· YouthBuild

In addition to the Presidential Awards, the Atlanta Community Food Bank also celebrates its own Volunteer Service Award winners, highlighting the groups’ outstanding service to the ACFB and the community.

The ACFB awards were earned by those who exhibited passion and a true desire to serve the community through their work with the ACFB through 2014. The following is a list of the awards and the award winners for 2014:

· The Distinguished Volunteer Group Award (presented to a returning group who has had a significant increase in hours/ACFB engagement over the past calendar year)

o United Parcel Service

· The Community Partnership Award (presented to a group who has engaged in a strategic formal partnership with the ACFB over the past calendar year)

o Intercontinental Hotels Group

o Dismas Charities

· The Community Impact Award (presented to a group who has had a significant impact in helping ACFB to fulfill its mission over the past calendar year)

o Georgia State University

· The Halo Award (recognizes new employee volunteer programs, student volunteer programs, and/or community volunteer programs that have partnered with ACFB to ensure support of our mission to fight hunger by educating, engaging and empowering our community)

o Department of Human Services

Many individual volunteers were also honored for their dedicated service to the ACFB last year. The following individuals have given over 100 hours of service to the organization, and in the process, earned the President’s Volunteer Service Award at the Silver and Bronze levels:

· Alton Myers - Silver

· Andrzej Popis - Bronze

· Audrie Kelton - Bronze

· Betty Dowling - Bronze

· Diane Parman - Bronze

· Fred Longobardi - Bronze

· Joan Brown - Bronze

· Justine Pompey - Bronze

· Karen Conway - Bronze

· May French - Silver

· Paul Hargaden - Silver

· Roosovelt Childress - Bronze

· Valencia Wilder – Bronze

Congratulations to all the 2014 award recipients! To learn about volunteering with the Atlanta Community Food Bank visit www.acfb.org.

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