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Woodforest Charitable Foundation Donates $2,700 to the Freestore Foodbank

Freestore Foodbank Receives $2,700 Donation

Photo Caption:Jacob Dupps, Woodforest Bank; Bryan Cooper, Woodforest Bank; Renee Hall, Regional Manager of Southern Ohio; Brian MacConnell, Vice President of the Freestore Foodbank, and Mitchell Vocke, Woodforest Bank.

CINCINNATI, Ohio (December, 2009) – The Freestore Foodbank recently received a $2,700 donation from the Woodforest Charitable Foundation.  The contribution will provide funding for its Kids Café and Power Pack programs.

In the last 40 years, the Freestore Foodbank has grown from one man’s passion for helping his neighbors into one of the region’s largest food banks.  The Freestore Foodbank distributes over 10 million pounds of food annually in 20 counties throughout Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana through a trusted network of over 400 local member agencies such as soup kitchens and shelters, food pantries, churches, daycare and senior centers, and many other community and social services organizations.

The Freestore Foodbank is a proud supporter of the Kids Café program.  Kids Cafe is an after-school program that offers tutoring, nutrition education, mentoring, and healthy meals to children at risk of hunger.  Currently, the Foodbank operates 15 after school sites, serving over 8,400 hot meal per month.  These sites such as schools, churches and community centers ensure that more children are getting the nutritious meals they need to learn and grow.

The Foodbank also sponsors the Power Pack program.  Power Packs send nutritious, shelf stable food home on Friday with children who may not receive enough food over the weekend.  They include items like milk, cereal, peanut butter, canned tuna or ravioli, and granola bars, all of which can be carried home easily in a child’s back pack and eaten safely without preparation or cooking.  Presently, the Foodbank provides almost 2,500 Power Packs per month in 34 schools.  The Power Pack program works with site coordinators at each school to determine the children most in need and ensure that they receive their Power Packs each week.  “Programs like Kids Café and Power Pack are integral to the mission of the Freestore Foodbank.   As we strive to make difficult lives less so, we rely on special friends like Woodforest Charitable Foundation to help us,” said John Young, President/CEO of Freestore Foodbank.  “Without your support, none of what we do would be possible.”

For more information about the Freestore Foodbank, please call (513) 482-4500 or visit the Foodbank’s website at www.freestorefoodbank.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.