Ascentra Credit Union Foundation Commits $50,000 to Local Foodbank
March 10, 2017
BETTENDORF, IOWA – Did you know that 1 in every 5 children in our region are missing meals? In an effort to meet the basic needs every child must have in order to survive and help end hunger in our community, the Ascentra Credit Union Foundation recently committed a total of $50,000 to the River Bend Foodbank. With the $50,000 grant, the Foodbank is now able to add needed resources to further their outreach.
The River Bend Foodbank has been strategically working on a solution to reach their 10-year goal to end hunger in eastern Iowa and western Illinois. Due to continued growth and a huge need to help fill a 4,254,025 meal gap deficiency, the Foodbank faces a challenge in reaching their goal without additional staff. The $50,000 grant donated by the Ascentra Credit Union Foundation will be used over the course of 3 years to allow the Foodbank to create a new program director position. This new program director will oversee and focus their efforts on key programs including the Backpack, Senior Pantry, School Pantry, and Mobile Food Pantry programs. Of the $50,000 grant, $5,000 will be used to set up mobile food pantries in Clinton and Muscatine, Iowa providing over 20,000 meals. The mobile food pantry in Muscatine will be held on Saturday, June 3 at Mulford Evangelical Free Church, 2400 Hershey Ave. The mobile food pantry in Clinton will be held on Saturday, Oct. 28 at Central Catholic Auditorium, 515 8th Ave. S.
“The Foodbank has been very strategic in looking at the big picture and collaborating with other foundations to make a bigger impact. We are very pleased that the Ascentra Credit Union Foundation is joining in on the efforts, and especially their efforts to reach two locations where we have thousands of members,” said Dale Owen, Ascentra President and CEO. “It’s a beautiful thing when we all work together towards the noble goal of ending hunger in our own backyard.”
Pictured from left to right: Ascentra Credit Union’s President and CEO Dale Owen and Chief Marketing Officer Jennifer Naeve join River Bend Foodbank Executive Director Mike Miller at the foodbank’s warehouse in Davenport where Miller made a series of announcements related to the community-wide effort to end hunger in eastern Iowa and western Illinois.
About The River Bend Foodbank:
The Foodbank is the largest hunger relief organization in the Quad Cities and surrounding communities, having distributed over 11 million meals in 2016 to hungry people in eastern Iowa and western Illinois. Our mission is to lead the community-wide effort to end hunger in Iowa and Illinois. We do this through food distribution in partnership with our 300 agencies as well as our Mobile Pantries, Senior Pantries, and Backpack Program. Visit our website at riverbendfoodbank.org to learn how you can help.
About The Ascentra Credit Union Foundation:
Established in 2013, to honor the memory of Ascentra Credit Union President and CEO Paul Lensmeyer and to meet the charitable and educational objectives of the board of directors of the credit union, the mission of the Ascentra Credit Union Foundation is to improve the quality of life for the membership of Ascentra Credit Union and further the philanthropic outreach in the communities the credit union serves. The focus of the foundation is on funding work to enhance youth development, expand credit education opportunities, foster community development, support cultural activities, and invest in ways to enhance the financial viability of the underserved. More information can be found at ascentra.org/foundation