The staff, clients and friends of Buffamante Whipple Buttafaro P.C., a regional accounting firm, donated 10,000 pounds of food to local food pantries in Jamestown, Olean and Orchard Park.
BWB initiated their second annual Together We CAN, Stuff the Cube Challenge and invited their clients and contacts to participate. The firm held a food drive in each of their three office locations. Their donations made it possible for the food pantries to provide Thanksgiving meals for the holiday.
"We had such great participation from our staff with our first annual Together We CAN, Fill the Cube Challenge, that we decided to do it again this year and invite our clients, contacts and friends to participate," explained Ryanne John, BWB administrative coordinator.
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Locally, the St. Susan Center received 4,000 pounds of food as a result of the efforts of those that donated to the food drive, which included 106 turkeys.
"We had such an overwhelming response from all of our clients and contacts in the Jamestown area. The program has been very successful and a lot of fun," said Leslie Hoisington, BWB marketing coordinator.
The St. Susan Center had 71 guests on Thanksgiving Day, which was a slight increase from 2011. Guests were served turkey, potatoes, squash, fruit cocktail and pie for their holiday lunch. The center had many volunteers who were willing to donate their time to help out for the Thanksgiving holiday.
"Every year we are blessed by the community and the way they give, not only of their time, but their resources as well. We could not begin to serve the meals that we do without the help of the community around us. BWB overwhelmed us with the amount of canned goods and turkeys that were donated. Thank you for all the hard work you put into this food drive for St. Susan Center," said Susie Hooper, volunteer coordinator for St. Susan Center.
On Friday, Nov. 16, members of the BWB office loaded the St. Susan's truck with the food that had been collected from the food drive. A final delivery of turkeys and non-perishable food items were dropped off Nov. 19.
"We are immensely grateful to our staff, clients and friends for their response to our request to support our area families in need of assistance. In fact, we are overwhelmed by their generous response. We are proud that their caring for our community has allowed us to support the mission of the local food pantries," said Jack Whipple, BWB managing partner.
The St. Susan Center has served more than 1.6 million meals since opening its doors in 1987. In 2011, 95,852 meals were served, an increase of 11 percent from 2010. To date for 2012, the center has served 82,835 meals. The center is open Mondays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 1:30-3:30 p.m.
For more information about the St. Susan Center, call 664-2253 or visit stsusancenter.org.
"Serving our guests seven days a week has become increasingly more challenging. Through the giving of our community, we are continuing to meet the growing demand. We pride ourselves in offering our guests a healthy meal consisting of the four food groups and, when available, a healthy snack to go," Hooper said.