Altair Global Collects 1,400 LBS. of Food During Shark Week!

Our partners from Altair Global Relocation helped us take a bite of hunger this summer by hosting Shark Week food drives at 4 of their offices across the United States!

Altair is one of the world's premier relocation management companies, but they are so much more than just a business. Their commitment to sustainability and corporate citizenship is unmatched in the relocation industry. Together, we are working to educate their staff, suppliers, and clients about food waste during the moving process and to seamlessly integrate Move For Hunger into their relocation policies.

But their support goes well beyond our traditional programs! Altair canned their CEO Chad Sterling, back in the fall of 2017 by filling his office with more than 700 lbs. of food. In October of 2018, their Minnesota branch built miniature golf courses out of cans, boxes of pasta, and other non-perishables. So we knew it was only a matter of time before they were ready to test the waters during Shark Week.

From July 29-August 2, employees at Altair's corporate headquarters in Plano, TX, and its branches in Walnut Creek, CA, Shelton, CT, and (the forementioned) Minnetonka, MN were encouraged to bring in donations of canned tuna, salmon, and other non-perishable items. Together, they collected more than 1,400 lbs. of food -- which is the equivalent of 1,150 meals!

Altair Global team members had a FIN-tastic time taking a bite out of hunger during last week’s Shark Week fundraiser benefitting @MoveForHunger. Watch the video to see how many items were donated this year! pic.twitter.com/rSBb2TzEEc

— Altair Global (@AltairGlobal) August 6, 2019

As you can no doubt tell from the photos, the Altair team had A LOT of fun during this campaign. The shark costumes, hats, decorations...we endorse all of it! Move For Hunger believes that charitable giving can and should be fun, because it makes people excited to be involved.

But we never lose sight of the reason we're holding a food drive in the first place. More than 12 million children in the United States face hunger every day, but the summertime is especially difficult. Kids who had been receiving breakfast or lunch at school miss out on those meals when classes end. Their families may rely on the local food pantry to help them bridge the summer meal gap, and the food pantry relies on organizations like Move For Hunger for donations. If those donations are high in protein, like canned tuna, even better!

The success of almost every food drive we help organize also, however, depends on the generosity of the moving companies in our network who provide collection boxes and volunteer to deliver the donations to the food bank. So we have to give credit to Nelson Westerberg of Texas, William B. Meyer (Connecticut), All Star Movers & Storage (California), and Suddath Relocation Systems of Minnesota, as well! Thank you all for making time (during your busy season, no less) to make a difference!

But, of course, the biggest thank you goes out to our friends at Altair for making this food drive one we'll never forget. Thank you to Chad Sterling and Amy Fedele at the corporate office for leading by example! Thank you to Barbara Almonacid at the Connecticut office, who really inspired the team with her creativity & dedication! Thank you to Janet Shaefer and the staff in Minnesota for holding another amazing event. And thank you to Karin Runge and everyone at the California branch for being the stars that we know you are!