Optima Living outdid itself this year by collecting an impressive 22,000 pounds of food for food banks, or the equivalent of about 25,000 meals for people in Alberta and British Columbia. That’s three times more than last year’s donations.
This remarkable achievement was accomplished with a friendly competition among employees at Optima Living seniors communities, who were challenged to collect the most pounds of food within their regional groups. It was also about doing the right thing, one of Optima’s values.
“For many people, these donations are their main source of food. At Optima Living, we’re thankful to be a part of this important cause. We plan to keep doing this because it aligns with our core values of People, Place, and Community,” shared Farid Damji, Co-Founder and Principal of Optima Living.
The event was completed on September 1, National Food Bank Day. Kudos was extended to Optima from participating organizations. Here’s a couple of the messages of appreciation.
The Hamlets at Penticton raised nearly 1,400 pounds of food.
“The Hamlets did a wonderful thing, the need has never been greater,” said Al Madsen, Ministries Director of the Penticton Salvation Army. “There are even more of the working poor who are struggling just to put food on the table. The growth in the use of the food bank, you just can’t imagine,” he told the Penticton Herald.
Country Cottage in Sherwood Park collected nearly 600 pounds of food.
“Congratulations, Country Cottage! … The Strathcona Food Bank is the winner of this friendly competition. What started off as one residence hosting a food drive has ballooned into a competition amongst three residences. We are so very grateful for this partnership. The contributions from these food drives come at a time when our shelves need restocking. This year we have seen a 35% increase in need, so we are very appreciative of all the donations that came pouring in,” said Anke Berner, a volunteer at the Strathcona Food Bank.
Well done, Optima Living!
All Optima seniors communities contributed generously. The following residences collected the most food in their regional group:
