People in the Florida agriculture community have no problem giving back
to their community and to institutions like universities and churches.
Whether it’s a large donation such as playground equipment or
simply a box in the hall collecting canned goods, it all adds up.
FFVA’s employees, for example, start the season early with
calls for donations to worthy causes. In October, children of two
employees collected pet food for an animal shelter. Every day, the
parents took the food home so as not to attract any six-legged diners
and every day it accumulated so that the kids were able to make quite an
impressive donation to the shelter.
Collecting toys for a holiday drive sponsored by an Orlando radio
station is an FFVA tradition.
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Lucy Nieves, from FFVA’s Environmental & Pest Management
Division, is in charge of a December tradition. She collects toys in
FFVA’s front lobby for the “Baby DJ Toy Fund”
sponsored by Orlando’s XL 106.7 radio station. “Every year,
the station adopts 25 families in the local area who are in dire
need,” Nieves said. “To provide for the families, the
station collects unwrapped toys and cash, which is then used for
purchasing additional toys.” The station also enjoys the support
of local business who donate Christmas dinners, Christmas trees and
more. “Because all donations are distributed to families that are
in need here in Orlando, this has attracted the support of many
residents and business owners in the area. It’s the community
giving back to the community,” Neives said.
FFVA staff also serve on the committee that makes the Redlands
Christian Migrant Association’s Christmas Card Fundraiser happen
Every year, the committee, made up of a handful of industry
representatives, meets at FFVA’s offices in Maitland to choose the
art that will be featured in that year’s cards. Art is drawn by
children in RCMA’s programs. Naturally, FFVA purchases its
Christmas cards from RCMA, which provides childcare and educational
opportunities for the children of farmworkers and other low-income
families. Former FFVA President George Sorn is a long-time supporter of
the card project and never fails to provide his input and guidance.
FFVA Mutual Insurance’s claims department gets involved in
helping those less fortunate as well. Staffers collect toys for
the Children’s Home Society of Florida,
which provides a safe haven and adoption services for orphaned, abused
and abandoned children.
The Andersons Plant Nutrient Group collected food for Feeding America
this holiday season.
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Another organization with offices upstairs from FFVA, The Andersons,
also helps those in need during the holidays. One of its projects is to
collect food for Feeding America, formerly America’s Second
Harvest. The Andersons Plant Nutrient Group is a leading formulator and
distributor of plant nutrient products.
Syngenta, one of the world's leading crop protection companies, has
also jumped on the charitable giving bandwagon. The company will make a
donation for every viewing of a promotional video that was offered
online between Oct. 7 and Nov. 20 to Feeding America. The donation
will pay for fresh and non-perishable potatoes for Feeding
America’s food banks to distribute to families in need.
And out in the field, Florida’s agricultural producers are
doing their part and more. In general, they are not the type to too
their own horn about their efforts, but we did manage to squeeze this
from Richard Alger of Homestead. “I have given to my college and
prep school every year since I graduated. The Homestead Baptist Hospital
is another of my major charities. Hospitals and schools could not
survive without private donations,” Alger said.
Between those larger donations that philanthropic members of the
industry make and the smaller food drives and car wash-type events, the
money and the hard work add up. Earlier this year, FFVA staffers
responded to an impromptu request for donations to Feeding
America’s food banks by drumming up 75 pounds of items over just a
few days. Multiply that by office after office and farm after farm
conducting their own individual projects and the amount that is given is
phenomenal.
There’s still time. Collect, give and volunteer this holiday
season. Your community will be the better for it.
