Dallas Theater Center Staff and A Christmas Carol Cast Volunteer at NTFB Warehouse

Last week, Dallas Theater Center staff, Brierley Resident Acting Company members and A Christmas Carol cast members fulfilled the first part of DTC's continued partnership with the North Texas Food Bank.

Over the course of 2 days, 28 DTC representatives volunteered at the NTFB's Dan Morton facility. The first group spent time in the Food Bank's new meat locker sorting meat. In all, they sorted 6,300 pounds of meat, enough to fill seven pallets, or the equivalent to 4,922 family meals.

"After hearing how many families we would feed in concluding our team's meat sorting shift, I was  amazed at how rewarding those few hours turned out to be," said Brad Pritchett, DTC Associate Director of Marketing and Communications. "The NTFB should be swarming with volunteers! I couldn't think of a more proactive and gratifying way to spend the morning."

On the second day, DTC volunteers spent time in the warehouse portion of the Dan Morton facility sorting dry food and goods to be shipped to various member agencies. This group sorted 10,714 pounds of dry food and goods, enough to load seven pallets. They sorted and boxed the equivalent of 8,370 meals.

"The experience was eye opening," said Antay Bilgutay, DTC Associate Director of Development. "It blew me away to learn that in just a few hours of volunteering, those of us who were working together made possible more than 8,000 meals. It was an honor to help."

Maxine Frampton, DTC Manager of Foundation and Government Relations, agrees.

"It's astonishing to see how little is required of you in order to make such a difference in someone's life," said Frampton. "For the sake of a few hours, we helped hundreds of people to feed their families. I'll never think of a food drive the same way again."

In addition to the volunteer days, DTC will also provide patrons a location to donate non-perishable food items at the Kalita Humphreys Theater during its annual production of A Christmas Carol. Members of the A Christmas Carol cast will also collect monetary donations for the North Texas Food Bank after every performance. Over the last three years, DTC patrons have donated more than $130,000 to the organization.

The North Texas Food Bank hopes to raise $7 million before the end of December. Holiday donations are critical to providing year-round aid to hungry North Texans and account for 50% of annual funds raised. 94 cents of every dollar given to the Food Bank supports the organization's mission.

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