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, though, this calling became very personal after several of our team members in the Buffalo, New York area had their community rocked by gun violence.
On Saturday, May 14, a shooter went into Tops Friendly Market and killed 10 Black shoppers and workers. In the aftermath, our CEO released a company statement about the news and what people could do to help. While that article promoted opportunities for anyone across the country to participate—our local team members in Buffalo immediately stepped up to help their community.
For those not familiar with the region, Tops is the only supermarket in the immediate area for the community. Due to the shooting and the supermarket’s subsequent closure, a food desert instantly sprung up, causing a gap in accessible groceries and other household items.
On May 19, several volunteers—including our team members Lauren Weatherbee and Laeni Mazurkiewicz—joined Buffalo’s Resource Council Center to pack food bags for those in need. This included bags with mac n’ cheese, water, paper towels, garbage bags, toilet paper, canned goods, cereal, and so much more. The Center also provided pet food and diapers/wipes when needed.
“Even in just a few hours of volunteering, Laeni and I felt so blessed to be able to do a small part,” said Lauren Weatherbee. “We will continue to do our part to support our Buffalo community so we’re #BuffaloStrong and continue to spread #BuffaloLove.”
If you want to learn about how you can help the community of Buffalo, you can see ways to help here. Whether you’re local and can give time—or further away and can donate funds—the region needs support in all forms.
We mourn with the country as this tragedy, and other tragedies like it, continue taking loved ones away from us. But we raise up people like Lauren and Laeni making a difference in the ways they know how. We’re proud to count them among the positive community changemakers helping to improve our country.
About Floyd Lee Locums
Floyd Lee Locums provides an elite concierge experience to physicians and advanced practice healthcare clinicians in hospitals and healthcare facilities nationwide. Named the 2020 and 2021 “Best Staffing Firm to Temp For” by Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA), their 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.