Giving back to the local community is a value each member of the Mail Shark team strongly believes in. That’s why Mail Shark employees chose to participate in two local charity events focused on helping the less fortunate this past holiday season: the Reading Salvation Army Angel Tree and the Greater Berks Food Bank Food Drive. Here’s what we did to get involved with these charities, a bit more information on them, and how you can help out, too!
Reading Salvation Army Angel Tree
Every holiday season, the Reading Salvation Army works with area families to create gift wish lists for seniors and children under 12. Each person asks for specific items, which are then put on red or green gift tags and hung on Salvation Army Angel Trees. These gifts range from coats and Legos for children to bedding and curtains for seniors. Mail Shark took 100 gift tags for our Angel Tree (80 more than last year). Despite quadrupling the number of tags we took in 2017, our generous employees picked up the tags and purchased gifts for all 100 people.
“Thank you for taking the time to prepare such beautiful gifts, and thank you for helping support our families,” said Director of Social Services Kristy Kushner. “You guys took over 100 tags…which is definitely one of our highest requests. Normally, organizations and businesses that take that many tags are ones that have been doing this for years, and you guys are doing it right from the start.”
About the Salvation Army
The Salvation Army has a long history of helping people and was founded by a London minister in 1865. They have locations in 128 countries and operate in nearly every zip code across the U.S. Best of all, donations stay within the local community, so you can make a difference in the lives of your neighbors.
Greater Berks Food Bank Food Drive
Our second holiday charity event was a food drive for the Greater Berks Food Bank. This was the second year we participated in the food drive, and our goal was to collect 500 pounds of food. In the end, we collected 494 pounds (so close!) of food along with an additional $181 in cash donations.
Here’s just a sampling of the nonperishable food items and personal care supplies that were donated by Mail Shark employees:
- Grains (rice, oatmeal, pasta, etc.)
- Peanut butter
- Soups and stews
- Canned fruits and vegetables
- Diapers
- Baby items (shampoo, lotion, etc.)
- Shampoo and soap
- Toothbrushes and toothpaste
About the Greater Berks Food Bank
The Greater Berks Food Bank was founded in 1983 by a group of local religious leaders who were concerned about the community’s hunger problem. They feed more than 110,000 people every year and distributed nearly 7.3 million pounds of food to their 300+ charitable food program partners in 2017.
How Can You Help?
The Mail Shark team really enjoyed participating in both of these wonderful events, and we look forward to supporting them again next holiday season. If you’d like to donate your time or money to either of these great charities, it’s easy to get involved. Follow the links below for more information on how you can help.
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Greater Berks Food Bank
Volunteer | Donate -
Salvation Army
Ways to Give