Nearly 214,000 people nationwide walked away from the Thanksgiving table with a full belly and a happy heart this year, thanks to the partnership of David Weekley Homes and 17 charities across the U.S. Throughout November, the company hosted its sixth annual companywide Thanksgiving Drive, collecting more than 184,000 pounds of food for 17 local nonprofit organizations around the country with help from homeowners, real estate agents, vendors, trade partners and team members.
“We feel very fortunate to be able to come together and raise money to benefit The Central Texas Food Bank,” said Mary Lewis, warranty coordinator with David Weekley Homes in Austin, Texas. “They have been so instrumental in their efforts to meet the demands of not only their existing clients but the those who found themselves struggling to feed their families as a result of COVID-19, and we are thankful we are able to alleviate some of the stress with our donation.”
Companywide, more than 900 team members participated in the drive to help families in need. In addition, The David Weekley Family Foundation donated more than $110,000 to local organizations.
For the fifth year in a row, the Tampa team partnered with Feeding Tampa Bay, an organization dedicated to fighting hunger by providing food, emergency assistance and aid to the more than 70,000 hunger-stricken population in Tampa Bay. Donations provided over 100,000 meals, including 365 frozen turkeys for those in need.
“This is all so wonderful,” said Andrea Reece-Kitchen, community engagement manager for Feeding Tampa Bay. “We cannot express how grateful we are to you and your team for continuing to partner with us.”
The team in Charleston invested 50 volunteer hours to support the organization and donated almost 4,000 pounds of frozen turkeys to Lowcountry Food Bank. Thanks to these efforts, more than 9,000 meals were supplied to those in need.
In Indianapolis, team members, along with homeowners and vendors, collected nearly 900 pounds of food for Second Helpings. In addition, The David Weekley Family Foundation gave a monetary donation of $5,100 to fund repairs and expansion of the Second Helpings parking lot to accommodate the growing number of trucks, volunteers, staff and visitors.
“When the pandemic hit, hunger found its way into homes, the need for meals increased immediately and our pasta inventory ran low,” said Statia Murphy, partnership and donor engagement manager for Second Helpings. “Long-time Second Helpings’ partner, David Weekley Homes, stepped in to coordinate a pasta drive that helped restock the shelves so that children, families and seniors will be able to receive healthy, nutritious meals.”
The annual drive is an initiative of the company’s CARE program, which allows the extended David Weekley Homes family to live out its purpose of Building Dreams, Enhancing Lives. Over the past 20 years, more than $200 million has been donated to worthy causes around the world through company earnings and The David Weekley Family Foundation. In addition, team members have volunteered countless hours with various organizations across the country.