(Article and Images from December 2014, Money magazine.)
According to their website, this group’s mission is as follows:
“The FBA mission is to increase awareness of local businesses and to provide services to support those businesses. Through networking events, members get to know one another and the products and services offered. FBA members support each other with referrals and a surprising amount of business transpires.”
During my tenure as Executive Director, Food for Fairview has received support from the FBA in a number of ways, including donations to us by the group. We’ve had individuals from the group become interested in our mission after meeting with one of us at networking events who then went on to volunteer, and entire businesses who’ve stepped up to the plate to volunteer as a group or offer support in some way. We are so grateful to all who’ve helped in any capacity.
Most recently, the FBA held their annual Christmas party on December 8. 2014 at Highland Brewing Co. (the group has grown too large for any Fairview-area venue to hold everyone), and donations were collected for several local charities including Food for Fairview. We were so pleased to receive a large quantity of the items we’d asked for, which included paper goods and toiletry items, as well as monetary donations. Not to mention it was a great party!
Thanks again to the FBA – the group who “keeps it local” by stepping up to help members of the local community in need.
Last fall while helping out at the Souper Bowl event, AC Reynolds High School student Nathan Sales approached me and asked if there was something he could do to help out Food for Fairview for his Eagle Scout project. We walked from the community center to the pantry, and once inside our gaze immediate fell upon the middle section of shelves in the building.
Once sturdy and attractive, the shelves had fallen into a state of disrepair due the weight of many years of holding canned goods. Indeed, the middle section on one side had collapsed altogether, replaced with flimsy plywood held in place by strips of wood. We immediately agreed that building new shelves needed to be Nathan’s project. We are very pleased to announce that our beautiful new shelves are now complete!
Nathan worked for many hours over Thanksgiving break to complete this project. Day one was devoted to building the shelves, while the majority of day two was spent painting. On day three, Nathan restocked the shelves after the paint had finally dried. Prior to the actual building, many hours of measuring and design work were completed.
Nathan was assisted by adult leaders Mark Carlson and Wilson Blankenship, as well as members of his Scout troop #53 of Oteen, NC, including Daemon Emile, Matthew Mongiovi, Will Kilmer, and Ryan Carlson. Many other friends and family members offered assistance as well as support and encouragement.
The results, as you can see in the photos, are spectacular. Not only are the shelves longer, providing more storage space, but the back section fits neatly between the two columns in the building, leaving more floor space available to navigate around the pantry. In addition to building the shelves, Nathan also plans to hold a drive to collect items to stock the new shelves that he built. We are so grateful for this truly wonderful addition to the pantry, and congratulate Nathan on completing his Eagle Scout project!
Food for Fairview’s Pantry