Hospitality is Hungry to Help
Each year around the Thanksgiving holi- day, you can find WMMR morning radio hosts Preston and Steve and their whole crew in the parking lot of the Metroplex Shopping center in Plymouth Meeting for their annual Camp Out for Hunger.
It is here they set up shop for five days collecting non-perishable food items to benefit Philabundance; and sleeping in a RV when they are not meeting and enter- taining fans.
This year, represen- tatives from the
Greater Philadelphia Hospitality Industry chose to support WMMR Preston and Steve's Camp Out for Hunger as a community out- reach project.
ISES Philadelphia President, Jason Cataldi, has been involved with this initiative for several years, and his employ-
er, IMS Technology Services,
has generously donated services, time, money and several hundred pounds of non-perishable food items to the project each year.
Cataldi explains, “I was inspired by the efforts of my coworkers, and thought this cause is something I believe the hospital- ity industry will embrace.”
As it turns out, he was right. It wasn’t long before Kelley Thwaite, PAMPI Immediate Past President, jumped on board, followed soon after by NACE and ISES New Jersey South. Collectively, this alliance took on the moniker “Hospitality is Hungry to Help.”
Thwaite notes that she was very enthusi- astic to take part in the project, “There are so many of us out there in the work force that live paycheck-to-paycheck. Any one of us could need this assistance at any
given time. So in the years I can help out, I feel it's my responsibility to do so.”
Within Hospitality is Hungry to Help, each organization worked to collect food donations at monthly association meetings and education events from August to November. Executives and members from the involved associa- tions, as well as employees of IMS Technology Services, arrived at Camp Out for Hunger on November 28 to make their donation.
They formed an assembly line of sorts to hand off the items to the Camp Out vol- unteers who were braving the cold weather while taking part in this initia- tive. Everyone involved seemed a little shocked as to how many non-perishable food items were actually collected. Even with the devastating blow caused by Hurricane Sandy that impacted much of the region, Hospitality is Hungry to Help was able to collect an astounding 1719- pounds of food.
Philabundance explained that for each pound of food and for each dollar raised, three meals could be realized and provided to individuals across the Delaware Valley. That means, in its inau- gural year, Hospitality is Hungry to Help was able to provide food for 5,157 hun- gry people across the region.
According to Kelley Thwaite, this is the first but definitely not the last time that Hospitality is Hungry to Help will take part in this initiative to feed the area’s hungry. “Not only is this a great cause,” she explains, “but it's a great way to bring our collective associations together... Hopefully we'll continue to grow just as this event has grown over the years.”
As a whole, WMMR and Preston and Steve listeners donated 627,678-pounds of non-perishable food items, more than
By Kori Dremow
50,000-pounds above what was collected in the previous year. Over 313 tons filling 24 tractor trailers were collected over the course of the five-day live broadcast event. This is the largest amount collect- ed in all of the 15 years since Camp Out for Hunger was started.
Through their efforts, not only did Preston and Steve encourage individual and business food donations, but their lis- teners also donated over $106,000 in cash. Thanks to this incredible initiative and to the efforts of groups like Hospitality is Hungry to Help, more than two million individuals will benefit.
While there was initially some concern as to how successful this initiative might be in the face of an economic recession, as well as in the aftermath of recent destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy, everyone was pleased with the end result. Such challenges seemed to have given participants even more of a reason to come together and show support for those who are less fortunate.
When asked why he took a personal interest in this cause, Cataldi shared, “I was inspired by someone very close to me who is always giving of her time and resources to help those in need. I now understand what it means to personally commit yourself not to a cause, but to caring about the welfare of another human being.”
Kori Dremow, CTS of IMS Audio Visual, is VP of Communications for the ISES Greater Philadelphia Chapter.
610-361-1870 Mid-Atlantic EVENTS Magazine 85
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