Brand Story – By volunteering for Donate Dinner, your company can provide more than just a meal while making an impact in the communities where your employees live and work.
Priyanka Sebastian and Amandeep Raina talk about work projects, the weather, and the upcoming weekend while they portion dried black beans into bags that will be delivered to eligible children and their families next week through Meals on Wheels People’s Meals 4 Kids program. Their manager, Steve Richman, jokingly calls out that they’re talking too much: “Get back to work!”
The team isn’t at work, though. The group of software engineers from Intel are volunteering at Meals on Wheels People’s Central Kitchen for the afternoon. Along with Steve, Rodrigo Escobar and Greg Fields clean insulated bags that meals are delivered in.
The Central Kitchen is a much different atmosphere from the quiet computer desks they’re used to, and the work they’re doing is very different from solving problems with manufacturers and vendors. But it’s just as satisfying, Greg says. “It’s a fun way to get out and give back to the community.”
Intel supports its employees taking time out of the workday to volunteer through its Intel Involved program. Over the past decade, Intel employees have volunteered more than 10 million hours in communities worldwide. Eligible causes in the U.S., including Meals on Wheels People, receive a $10 donation for each hour volunteered by an Intel employee.
This isn’t the Intel team’s first time volunteering at Meals on Wheels People. They volunteered packing meals in the kitchen before the pandemic. When Steve asked where they wanted to serve this time, “The whole team unanimously agreed to come back,” he says. “Meals on Wheels People has such a good reach and touches so many different people. It’s important work. And the environment is fun.” Amandeep says volunteering together is a great team-building activity, too.
The Intel squad is one of the many corporate volunteer teams Meals on Wheels People hosts each week. As the nonprofit gears up for its largest fundraiser of the year, Donate Dinner, it’s looking for more corporate teams that want to get involved. Launched in 2003, Donate Dinner takes place at local grocery stores and retailers across the Portland-Vancouver metro area the week leading up to Thanksgiving, Nov. 18-22, 2023. Volunteers greet customers as they enter a store and hand them a Donate Dinner card that explains how their donation will help Meals on Wheels People provide meals for older adults and other nutritionally at-risk populations. If customers choose to donate, they simply add the cost of one or more meals to their grocery bill when they check out at the register. Volunteers do not ask for donations or collect money.
With the population of seniors rapidly growing, there has never been a better time to demonstrate your company’s commitment to giving back to our older neighbors, loved ones, and friends. By volunteering for Donate Dinner, your company can provide more than just a meal while making an impact in the communities where your employees live and work.
For more information, visit DonateDinner.org.
Brand stories are paid content articles that allow Oregon Business advertisers to share news about their organizations and engage with readers on business and public policy issues. The stories are produced in house by the Oregon Business marketing department. For more information, contact associate publisher Courtney Kutzman.
