Employees at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) donated enough food in a recent drive to feed 50 adults and 100 children for a week.
“It was a fantastic turnout,” Erika Echols, NREL’s staff council president, said. “Our executive managers set up a booth and boxed all the food that was contributed. We had 24 more boxes than we did a year ago.”
The food was donated to the Action Center in Lakewood, which has as its mission “to provide an immediate response to basic human needs and promote pathways to self-sufficiency for Jefferson County residents and the homeless.”
When the food was brought to the Action Center and placed on the scale, it totaled 1,198 pounds.
“It was wonderful to see how NREL’s staff and management opened their cabinets and hearts to help those less fortunate in our surrounding community,” said Echols, who led the drive along with NREL employee Jeannie Berens. The food drive ended on June 28.
NREL Director Dan Arvizu said “we at the lab are part of the community, and it is gratifying to be able to help members of our community who are in need.”
Last year, NREL employees contributed $388,612 to its Charitable Giving Campaign.
NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy’s primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for DOE by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.
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Visit NREL online at www.nrel.gov
