As part of Floyd Lee Locums volunteerism program, “We Serve,” we encourage employees to partner with people and programs that better the communities we live in. Recently, our Manager of Business Development, Lauren, joined FeedMore WNY for an afternoon of volunteering.
While it wasn’t her first time joining the cause—having previously volunteered with the Junior League of Buffalo—she noted the need for a continued commitment for those in “food deserts” or without the means to purchase affordable meals.
“Food banks are a critical lifeline for so many in our communities,” said Lauren. “Until volunteering, I was never aware of the severe need for food, especially among children. In the past, I’ve worked on food bags for the Backpack Program, an initiative where children would take home food from school, so they had enough to eat through the weekend. As a mom, the fact that this was a worry for kids and families was shocking to me—and lit a fire to help even more.”
Lauren and those who volunteered that day packed up to 20 pounds of food, which has been distributed to local shelters across the Buffalo/Western New York community. If you consider how much of an impact that has day-by-day, the food bank distributed more than 17 million pounds of food just last year.
FeedMore WNY is a merger of two organizations: the Food Bank of WNY and Meals on Wheels for Western New York. For many years, the two groups worked in tandem toward the singular vision of ending hunger in the community. Today, FeedMore WNY continues the longstanding mission of offering dignity, hope and a brighter future by providing nutritious food, friendship and skills training to its region. These tenets of good will echo similarly in the walls of Floyd Lee Locums.
“I’m grateful to work at a place like Floyd Lee Locums, which offer a volunteerism program like We Serve,” said Lauren. “It is the opportunity to get involved and be the change, even if small, to our communities. I have been blessed with a wonderful life, and I want be able to make an impact to someone’s life—whether it is by organizing food at the food bank, giving blood in our time of crisis, or donating household items/clothing/toys to local shelters.”
Lauren shared that she’ll be back with FeedMore WNY next month to continue volunteering. As she notes, “To step into the food bank and feel the passion and love of the staff and volunteers has been amazing. And to see all of the food and pallets packaged and ready to go out for delivery is overwhelming.”
If you want to find a food bank you can donate to in your area, visit here.
About Floyd Lee Locums
Floyd Lee Locums provides an elite concierge experience to physicians, clinicians, and advanced practice providers in hospitals and healthcare facilities nationwide. Named the 2020 and 2021 “Best Staffing Firms to Temp For” by Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA), our hands-on approach to delivering best-in-class service, personalized career solutions, and coverage that positively impacts patient outcomes is setting a new standard in the locums industry.