As part of Micro Focus INSPIRE, our companywide Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) program, all employees receive four days a year to volunteer to give back and make a difference. Using their volunteering days, Micro Focus teams based across North America recently came together in a variety of ways to give back to their local communities by tackling food insecurity. Their support underpins our commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UN SDG) ‘Poverty’, one of several UN SDGs supported by Micro Focus.
Anyone, anywhere, no matter their circumstance, may find themselves in need of food bank support. It was for this reason colleagues used their volunteering days to assist at organisations described by many as a ‘lifeline’.
Colleagues in the Micro Focus Alpharetta office based in Georgia, recently hosted a food drive for the Atlanta Community Food Bank. The Atlanta Community Food Bank services more than 715,000 people living in food poverty, with 1 in 7 local children regularly going to bed hungry. At the end of 2021, the charity distributed more than 96,000,000 meals to people in need. The team collected items such as canned goods, toiletries, whole grain products, and much more.
The Micro Focus team in Seattle volunteered at Food Lifeline, based in Western Washington – an activity they undertake every month. Food Lifeline provides nutritious food to 1.37 million people facing hunger and supports a network of 350 food banks, shelters, and meal programmes. At the end of 2021, the non-profit distributed 282,510 meals per day to people in need and received 88,145,730 pounds of food. In October, ten colleagues sorted and packed 2000lbs of garbanzo beans.
Micro Focus colleagues in Texas used their volunteering days to support the North Texas Food Bank in its ongoing pursuit of closing the hunger gap in North Texas. So far this year, the food bank has provided 136 million means to children, seniors and families in need and distributed more than 32 million pounds of fresh produce. Volunteers were assigned to collect canned food from the Texas Stare Fair and place these cans in large bins. At the end of the shift, our volunteers had filled almost three bins with canned food.
Teams also came together to use their volunteering days to support the Renewal Food Bank, based in Bellevue, WA. Renewal Food Bank serves up to 300 families each week. In 2021, the non-profit serviced 36,870 people and 14,173 families.
Jeff Ehlers, Account Executive at Micro Focus, who volunteered at Renewal Food Bank commented, “It was a great experience having the opportunity to lend a hand “on the frontlines” in sorting, organizing, and then distributing food to those in need - we were able to distribute food to 100+ people on that day.”
Talking about the INSPIRE volunteering program, Jeff said: “We really appreciate the opportunity that Micro Focus gives us to volunteer and help in our community. It really feels good to be able to be doing something together to make a difference within the community that we all live and work.”
