Feinstein Foundation Challenge Met!
Wednesday May 16, 2007, Panama City
The Alan Shawn Feinstein Foundation will divide one million dollars among “hunger fighting agencies” who participated in this year’s challenge to raise money and donations of food during March 1st – April 30th. Although the first time that Catholic Charities in Panama City participated, this is the tenth straight year that Mr. Feinstein, who resides in Rhode Island, has made this generous offer.
The Panama City office took advantage of this timely event by promoting the “challenge” to local churches, businesses, social service organizations and individuals who reside in Bay and other neighboring counties. One family donated a mini-van to Catholic Charities to be used for collecting donated food to the agency. All in all, the response from mailings, announcements in church bulletins, emails, etc. resulted in monetary donations of $11,240 along with 6,712 food items and a van valued at $1,600. These donations came at a time when shelves in the Sheila Kreppein Food Pantry were quite bare; Emergency Food and Shelter Program dollars were close to exhausted (for the previous year), and it was still a few weeks prior to the Annual Postal Food Drive. Thanks to all of those who “rose to the challenge” and thanks to the Alan Shawn Feinstein Foundation for offering such a positive incentive to our communities in responding to the fight against hunger!