Vanguard donates 2.3M meals

Food donations collected through annual ‘All Cans on Deck’ effort

VALLEY FORGE » For the 22nd year, Vanguard employees joined together in support of the company’s annual “All Cans on Deck” food drive.

For two weeks in June, food donations (including canned goods, packaged fruit, cereals, pastas and sauces) and monetary donations were collected across Vanguard’s three domestic sites in the U.S. — Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Arizona — to benefit area relief agencies and non-profit organizations.

As a result of the drive, 2.3 million meals were donated. In Pennsylvania, Vanguard employees donated more than 1.3 million meals to those in need.

“I am proud to go to work each day with people who care about giving back,” Vanguard CEO Tim Buckley said in a press release. “While our economy continues to grow and we are in the tenth year of a bull market, not everyone has benefited. Our crew recognize that thousands of families in our communities go to bed hungry each night. We try to alleviate some of that food insecurity by funding over 2.3 million meals through local agencies.”

This year, donations raised in Pennsylvania will go to the following agencies: Philabundance, the Food Bank of Delaware, the Chester County Food Bank, the Food Bank of South Jersey, Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities, Arm in Arm, SHARE Foods and the Salvation Army.

The monetary donations that are made strengthen the buying power the agencies have for those items they need the most, according to the release. This

year, Vanguard crew donated nearly $500,000 to local agencies, which also received a company match from Vanguard. That figure represents an increase in 20 percent over last year.

Carolyn Biondi, executive director of Arm in Arm, highlighted the importance of those donations. “Credit donations allow us to fill in when we’re missing on certain food groups… but even more so, allow us to provide fresh food, which is so important,” she said during a July 19 event celebrating the drive.

At the event, Buckley, Vanguard employees and Chester County Food Bank Director Larry Welsch were joined by representatives from SHARE Foods, Pottstown Cluster, Food Bank of Delaware, Arm in Arm, Food Bank of South Jersey, Philabundance and Salvation Army.

Vanguard is one of the world’s largest investment management companies. The firm, headquartered in Valley Forge, offers 400 funds to its more than 20 million investors worldwide. For more information, visit vanguard.com.

SUBMITTED PHOTOS Vanguard CEO Tim Buckley, center, commended crew on their generosity and thanked hunger relief agencies for all of their hard work. The company’s annual All Cans on Deck food drive collected 2.3 million meals.

Vanguard’s All Cans on Deck food drive donated more than 2.3 million meals to local relief agencies.