Recognition

2005 Recognition Dinner

The Friends of the Coalition held its 3rd annual recognition dinner on May 11th at Corporate Alliance where guests were treated to door prizes and a wonderfully catered meal by Marvellous Catering. "Each year we want to recognize the contributions and efforts of the true heroes associated with our agency, namely, our volunteers and donors," said Brent Crane, executive director of the Friends of the Coalition. "This evening gives us a unique opportunity to showcase the diversity and breadth of service made by members of our community and to acknowledge their sacrifices in making Utah County a better place to live." Guests were privileged to view a presentation on the scope of the agencies programs and see firsthand the diversity of community involvement in carrying out those programs on behalf of those less fortunate. "When you step back and see all the remarkable contributions made by our community, it is pretty overwhelming," said Patricia Garcia, head cook at The Coalition.

Business Partner of the Year — Costco.

Nearly 2.5 years ago we received an unsolicited call from the manager at Costco after the grand opening of their store in Orem was complete. The question at the end of the phone was, "could you use some donated bakery and food items?" Well, of course, our answer was, "YES".

Since that time, Costco has donated bread, bagels, cakes, spaghetti sauce, canned fruit and vegetables along with other food items. Last year, they donated nearly 20,000 lbs. of food valued at $33,000. Every Monday and Wednesday other volunteers of the Food & Care Coalition pickup and deliver the goods at our back door. Costco also donates goods on other days of the week to other humanitarian groups in the area. We appreciate and recognize their community minded spirit.

Business Partner of the Year — Sam's Club.

It's hard to remember a time when Sam's Club has not been a contributor to the Food & Care Coalition. Since their store opened here in Provo a number of years ago, Sam's has contributed such items as croissants, cakes & cookies, breads, pizza and many other food items. In 2004 alone, Sam's donated nearly 65,000 pounds of food valued at over $110,000. Since the Food & Care Coalition only spends around $5,000 annually on food and meal preparation supplies in serving the 100,000 + meals it does annually - it goes without saying that Sam's Club has served many of our homeless friends in our community single handedly. Thank you for all your support!

Storehouse Partner of the Year — ITEX.

The Food & Care Coalition first came into contact with Suzanne and the ITEX team through our relationship with Corporate Alliance nearly a year ago. ITEX, a national trade and bartering company has facilitated business to business relationships by linking people together on the basis of win-win relationships and fulfilling mutual needs of businesses.

Anyone who knows Suzanne or crosses her path will come to know a genuine, energetic and relationship oriented person. Suzanne and her company have become one of the Coalition's more significant partners in the past year, highlighting our charitable activities at their annual Christmas Trade Show. Their contributions this past year have included a contribution of more than $13,000 ITEX dollars which will be partially used to trade with a local architect on the architectural plans towards our new building. ITEX also sponsored one of the trees submitted as part of this years 1st annual Celebration of Tree's sponsored by the Shops at Riverwoods, Papaya & Co. and Utah Valley Magazine, raising an additional $21,000 towards the upcoming building project.

Volunteer of the Year — Betty Lewis.

Betty has faithfully volunteered at Food & Care Coalition as a meal volunteer for the past 10 years. Her advocacy efforts have been felt on many levels including picking up and delivering food donations, attending Provo City Council Meetings and by promoting agency needs among friends and associates. She continues to be an excellent volunteer and has gained many friends among volunteers, employees and patrons. Betty and her husband live in Provo where they both enjoy the fruits associated with being grandparents.