2001 Heroes of Everyday Life

Margaret Bencivengom
Amity Regional School District, Woodbridge, CT

For Ms. Bencivengo and her family, the spirit of service is not a once-a-year commitment-it's a way of life and has been for more than 12 years. Whether it's collecting bottles and donating the money earned from recycling to shelters, or bringing gifts to less fortunate families on Christmas morning, Ms. Bencivengo and her family touch the lives of many in their community each day. On holidays, they prepare and serve meals to nearly 100 people at a local shelter. And, for the last four years, she and her co-workers have prepared and served meals to nearly 300 people at a shelter in New Haven.

Phillip Coffman
University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX

Mr. Coffman spends two to three Saturdays a month volunteering his time at 8:00 a.m. to serve food to the homeless "on the street" in Galveston. He works on the main serving line, dishing up a variety of donated foods to both new and familiar faces-men, women, and children who are often experiencing substance abuse problems, who are victims of physical abuse, or afflicted with mental disorders. This year, Mr. Coffman not only worked with his colleagues during the company's annual Servathon week, but also helped develop a new, year-long dinner program made possible by soup and bread provided by Sodexho employees.

Lyn Doiron
Abbott Labs, Austin, TX

Ms. Doiron has been helping to feed the hungry in Austin, TX for more than five years. Not only has she collected food and money for local organizations, but she has also organized volunteers and sorted food as part of Abbott Labs' Servathon efforts for the past three years. She has coordinated two annual 24-hour food sorting marathons at the Capital Area Food Bank, where she and her co-workers sorted more than 71,000 pounds of food. She also developed and ran "Austin is Jammin," which collected over 100 pounds of peanut butter and jelly for the Austin Children's Home.

Charles Hills
Catholic University of America, Washington, DC

Mr. Hills has been involved in activities to help the hungry in the Washington, DC area for more than three years. Some of his work in this area revolves around his position as a liaison between the DC Central Kitchen (DCCK), Catholic University, and Sodexho for Feeding Our Future, a summer program that provides free meals to DC children who might otherwise go hungry. But when students at Catholic University are away on break, Mr. Hills also coordinates Catholic University's weekly food donation program to DCCK and shares his culinary expertise with participants in the DCCK's culinary training program, which teaches basic culinary job skills to the homeless or underprivileged. Mr. Hills has also been successful at encouraging 75 percent of Sodexho's employees at Catholic University to participate in the company's payroll deduction program, which helps fund the Sodexho Foundation. And through his work with the DC Metro Area Chefs' Association, he has raised money for the Capital Area Food Bank and, with the help of an additional 11 area chefs throughout Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia, to cook and serve 875 meals for the DC Central Kitchen's clients.

Charlie J. Jones
Hewlett Packard, Roseville, CA

Innovation isn't just for the "dot com" companies anymore. In fact, for Charlie Jones' employees at Hewlett Packard in Roseville, CA, innovation means participation in a new, quarterly hunger relief program where Sodexho employees coordinate "Volunteer Night." Employees alternate as the point person for "Volunteer Night." Their main responsibility is to select a local charity to receive the group's canned food and clothing donations for the quarter. Mr. Jones is also a Sodexho Foundation S.T.O.P. Hunger champion. In this role, he has been instrumental in educating Sodexho employees about the Foundation and the problem of hunger in the U.S. During a recent sign-up drive, he personally contributed a one-time donation of $3.00 for every employee who signed-up for a payroll deduction of at least $1.00 per week. All money will go to the Sodexho Foundation.

Connie Meier
Hinsdale Central High School, Hinsdale, IL

Ms. Meier has been preparing and serving meals, and collecting and donating food to help the hungry in the Chicagoland area for more than 11 years. This past Thanksgiving and Christmas, she organized a dinner for 150 homeless people in Chicago. A couple of months later, in February 2001, she organized her team to give monthly donations of food, supplies, and money to the family of a student who needed help because their chief breadwinner had died. She has also encouraged 36 of her employees to participate in the company's payroll deduction program, which funds the Sodexho Foundation.

Chris Murray
West Group, Eagan, MN

Mr. Murray has been very involved with his community's volunteer efforts to help fight hunger on a number of different levels. He has coordinated eight dinners for a local community center, helped with food preparation and service, and donated money to help pay for the food. For both Christmas and Thanksgiving, he and his family "adopted" a needy family and invited them for dinner. He also solicited contributions for Christmas gifts, then wrapped and delivered them to the "adopted" family-all in addition to his usual donations to the community center of food, teddy bears, and coats. Currently, Mr. Murray is also helping his local Loaves & Fishes charity by researching new purveyors to find the lowest cost for paper goods.

Keith Walo
Genuity, Woburn, MA

Mr. Walo is also very involved in activities in his community to fight hunger. Not only has he developed feeding programs in Woburn, Burlington, and Cambridge, where he does business, but he has also organized a dinner for 220 seniors at the Veteran's Memorial Senior Center, and is involved with several homeless shelters in the Boston area. Mr. Walo holds at least two food drives a year, and likes to organize meals and fun activities-like the movie and pizza night he held for the House of Hope, a shelter for abused women and children. Mr. Walo has also held clothing and canned food drives for the House of Hope, and he and his staff have prepared dinners for more than 50 of its clients.

2007 Heroes, Press Announcement
2006 Heroes, Press Announcement
2005 Heroes, Press Announcement
2004 Heroes
2003 Heroes
2002 Heroes
2001 Heroes
2000 Heroes

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