On Friday, May 18, members of GBCA’s Construction Leadership Council and students from Drexel University’s Construction Management Program gave back to the community by volunteering for Philabundance, a Philadelphia-based hunger relief organization dedicated to increasing food access and ending hunger.

One of Philabundance’s strategies is to redistribute food normally wasted in the city. At the Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market, the volunteers selected and re-packed 5160 pounds of produce that had not yet been purchased by restaurants or retailers, but was in fact still good and edible. This food was later distributed at Philabundance’s Fresh For All markets, which provide free fresh produce to those in need in the Philadelphia region.

The CLC also thanks Dr. Kenneth Sands II of Drexel University, for sharing this volunteer opportunity with students from Drexel’s Construction Management Program. Drexel University is one of GBCA’s educational partners in Philadelphia. While volunteering, the soon-to-be Drexel University graduates had the opportunity to chat with CLC members to learn more about the industry.

Thanks to the CLC Steering Committee (Melissa Wyatt of Torcon, Inc.; Reggie Asare of Skanska USA Building; Casey Kehoe of Revolution Recovery; Gene Rose, Jr. of Armor Masonry Restoration; and Ron Zawacki of Siemens Industry Inc.), CLC member John McDermott of Raymond James & Associates, and Lauren Tosti, Byron Lee, and Frank Durso of GBCA for participating.

Special thanks to Monica Crosby, Chris Luebbe, and Martin Cripps for training and guiding the volunteers!

The CLC is looking forward to collecting and donating even more food and funds for Philabundance later this year as part of 2018’s 93.3 WMMR Preston & Steve’s Camp Out for Hunger, and has already begun preparations for this year’s food drive.

Click below to see more photos!

About Philabundance

In 1984 Philabundance was founded by an idealist named Pamela Rainey Lawler who saw perfectly good food going to waste, and, at the same time, saw people going hungry. Philabundance serves 90,000 low-income people each week, 30% of whom are children and 16% are seniors. Among those served are the working class, students, veterans and single parents. Philabundance is a proud member of Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks leading the fight against hunger in the United States.