UF | ICBR Staff Answer Challenge to Support Local Students in Need

For the third consecutive year, UF | ICBR held their annual food drive to provide food and supplies to Gainesville grade schools (event concluded 12/4). Well, although our results were tremendous in 2018 and 2019, this year took the cake. Over the course of eight weeks, our staff of 46 individuals collected over 5,150 items for Gainesville students, or approximately 112 items per employee.

UF | ICBR’s HR Manager, Erica Boyd, led the charge; generating buzz, building rapport with nearby schools, and most importantly, communicating to staff every week about how real this need is in our community.

“When I came to work at ICBR I was impressed that they did a food drive every year and I was excited to be part of it. I couldn’t imagine that it would grow to this level and that the team would rally together to help feed so many kids in the area. Their generosity in a year of so much anxiety and uncertainty is mind blowing and I couldn’t be more proud to be part of this group. This shows that people just need the opportunity and they will blow you away. We make it a competition between cores for team building but in the end the real winners are the kids and their families that will helped to be fed over the holidays and know that there are people that care about their future and well-being! For the last 3 years we have donated the food drive items to local school’s backpack programs to help send more food over the holiday break. The two weeks kids are out of school can often be stressful for kids and their families who are used to having the main source of food provided by schools. The backpack programs help by sending food home over the weekends and breaks to help feed those children and often their families too. Hunger is one of the major factors that can interfere with a child’s education and in turn their future. It is awesome to be part of a program that wants to help alleviate that stress for families.”

– Erica Boyd, Human Resources Manager, UF | ICBR

2020 has been an unprecedented year, with food pantries and local households countering increasing demand with diminishing resources. In the spirit of the season, please reach out to your local schools and charities to see how you can help!