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How TD Bank used job recruitment events to raise donations for local food banks

They say a dollar can’t buy a whole lot these days, but when it comes to supporting your local food bank, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

In fact, various food banks that work with TD Bank can turn a dollar into four or five meals, after buying ingredients in bulk, enlisting volunteers and using other donated items.

TD Bank recently held a recruitment drive at three U.S. Contact Centers looking for quality talent, but also looking to give back. With every candidate interviewed during the event, the Contact Centers also donated a preset amount to a local food bank.

The Bank ended up with 67 new employees in all and donated $900 to the Cherry Hill Food Pantry in New Jersey, $700 to Harvest Hope in South Carolina and $700 to Good Shepherd Food Bank in Maine.

This Unexpectedly Human act comes on the heels of other pay-it-forward gestures from TD regional stores and lines of business, including a store manager who paid off customers’ layaways at a local Walmart and awarding grants worth $3 million through The Ready Challenge to four U.S. healthcare organizations.

Jason Hunt, Vice President of Talent Acquisition at TD Bank, was one of the drivers behind the effort and said the three sites got twice as many applicants as they normally do for these positions due to the drive.

“We were able to give back and hire some really great people, as well,” he said. “It just felt good to see it come together like this.”

Managers at the Contact Centers involved were also inspired by the outcome.

“I think this was a brilliant idea,” said Hubert Rivera, Senior Contact Center Manager in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. “It embodies TD’s purpose to address business needs in unique and innovative ways that also support the local communities we serve.”

Larissa Wells, Senior Contact Center Manager in Greenville, South Carolina agreed, adding: “I am so proud of our Contact Center family for the creative ways we drive our business forward while putting our Customers and communities at the center of all we do.”

Erin Fogg, Vice President at Good Shepherd, said they often help families dealing with food insecurity, who aren’t necessarily homeless, but living paycheck to paycheck.

“Many parents are working two or three different jobs, many times without benefits,” she said. “These are working families, paying for housing, daycare and heat in the winter.”

Fogg said more than 13.6% of the populations they serve struggle with food insecurity, while they give out or distribute almost 25 million meals a year. “The dollar for us does go quite a long way,” she said.

Amy Bell, Emergency Food Pantry Manager at Harvest Hope, said her site alone served over 900 families during Thanksgiving last month. Things will continue to be busy into the new year.

The holidays are a time of being together with families and friends, and the same goes for residents battling food insecurity.

“You have more family events with more people around,” she said. “Kids are also out of school, so those who normally get free or reduced meals are now at home.”

Bell said what some people don’t realize is they cater to a lot of seniors as well.

“They too want to provide that nice meal to their family, be that host for the holidays,” she said. “At some point, we all need help.”

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