Volunteering runs in the family for TI employee Matthew Ladin. As a child, Ladin served as a volunteer with his mother in hospitals and nursing homes during the holiday season. In retirement, his grandfather hand-sewed stuffed animals and gave them to children in the local children's hospital.
More recently, Ladin, a project manager in TI's IT Operations in Plano, Texas, has volunteered countless hours serving the Vickery Meadow Neighborhood Alliance (VMNA). The VMNA is a coalition of community partners that banded together in 2009 to fight hunger with unified strength in one of the most challenged neighborhoods in Dallas.
For the past two years, Ladin has collected thousands of food item donations by offering the people in his neighborhood an easy way to give.
"Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I organize a food drive through my neighborhood association," Ladin said.
"That's the time of year people want to do something to help, but they don't always know what to do. I give them an easy way to help by asking them to pick up a couple of extra items each time they go to the grocery store and drop them into bins that I leave on my front porch."
During the holiday season, Ladin collects enough dry goods, cooking oil and flour to fill the entire bed of his full-size truck. He also hosts an annual St. Patrick's Day party and asks party-goers to bring a food donation.
Offering a helping hand
The Vickery Meadow food pantry is run solely by volunteers. In January 2011, 456 households with 1,739 members received assistance. In January 2012, this increased to 553 households and 2,075 members receiving assistance.
"Matthew has been extremely helpful in his efforts to help the Vickery Meadow Food Pantry," said Rose Watel, Pantry manager.
"In addition to organizing a food drive through his neighborhood association the last two years, he organized a food drive through a young adult group at Temple Emanu El. Not only does he aid in the collection of the food, but he also delivers it to the pantry on all occasions."
The VMNA impacts Vickery Meadow by not only striving to provide food for families in need, but by helping them to move out of poverty through advocating on behalf of the population and the hunger issues they face. VMNA is also a partner with the North Texas Food Bank.
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| Matthew Ladin is a 2012 TI Founders Community Service Award winner for his commitment to helping fight hunger. |
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What special skills or experience have you acquired through volunteering?
"Volunteering helps to build organization and management skills. Often, there are lots of things in motion that you have to manage as a volunteer. It has definitely helped me improve my project management and organizational skills."
What does winning this award mean to you?
It is exciting to be able to give VMNA the $1,000 donation. The extra money will really help. I'm proud of the fact that TI recognizes its employees' leadership outside of work and understands it's a part of who we are."
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