Good morning friends of Care and Share,

Victoria Selfridge, the VP of Corporate Communications at Ent Federal Credit Union, has been supporting our work for more than a decade. We wanted to know why. Please enjoy this Q&A with Victoria!

Q: Tell us about what prompted you to donate 37 pounds of food in 2002? Was it from a presentation you had seen? Was it from touring our facility?

A: We had a down the street neighbor we ran into at the mailbox who asked us if we had extra room in our freezer. They were going to stock up on turkeys at the local grocery to donate to Care and Share for Thanksgiving, but they could only buy a few each grocery trip and were running out of space in their own freezer. We said “Sure – we can store some.” We didn’t know much – if anything – about Care and Share at that point, or the Thanksgiving turkey collection, but we thought it was a great idea and picked up a couple of frozen turkeys of our own to donate. Now we do it every year.

Q: What prompted you to start donating to Care and Share financially?

A: While picking up a frozen turkey at the store on our weekly grocery run wasn’t hard, or getting some extra peanut butter, pasta or other core staples – I started to see some of the statistics about how far Care and Share could make a donation of even $1 go, turning just $1 into 10 lbs of food. That’s much better than I can do at the store, even with coupons!

Q: How does Care and Share help you serve/meet your personal mission?

A: Looking at our personal “mission,” Brian and I like to get out and explore, from finding new places and different cultures to new music and trying new foods. Even in our wedding vows, we worked in references to travel, good music, and good food.

My feeling is that food is essential to life, but it can also be a great part of enjoying and savoring life, finding out what you like and what you might try once (just to say you did), but then never eat again! We’re fortunate that we’ve never gone hungry, or been forced to choose between a roof over our heads or putting food on the table.

Q: From attending our events, what messaging did you hear or what did you see that prompted you become more involved? Especially as a celebrity Fork Lifter?
A: We initially got more involved by volunteering a few days at the old Care and Share warehouse – sorting food into individual boxes, and moving things in the warehouse with a hand truck. Actually seeing the volume of food coming in and going out to those in need made the impact Care and Share has on our community really hit home.

While we don’t have as much time these days for in-person volunteering, I liked being a Fork Lifter because it was something I could do on “my time” that still helped the food bank: sharing information about Care and Share’s mission and the need for a new forklift, and encouraging people to donate or get involved.

I think we’re a good example of what can happen when you take time to share an organization’s mission or a project you’re working on with a friend or neighbor. In my opinion, it never hurts to invite people to get involved!

Q: From your perspective as a donor, what does Care and Share offer to you that other organizations do not? Describe what keeps you involved as a donor.
A: I think Care and Share is pretty great about regular communication – from social media to the newsletter and the website – I feel like I’m regularly hearing about how people are being helped, new programs are being developed, or existing programs are being refined. To hear how Care and Share is helping people – and feeling like Brian and I are a little part of supporting that – that feels pretty good too.