This year, The Home Loan Expert (THLE) launched the THLE Cares initiative, which gives employees a paid day off to volunteer every quarter—and opportunities in their area to do so. One of our first major partner charities is Operation Backpack, which provides weekly sacks of kid-friendly, shelf-stable food to get students through the weekend when school meals are not available.
Last month, a team of 25 THLE employees packed 1,400 meals for Operation Backpack at a THLE Cares event in St. Louis.
“Not only was our Operation Backpack event a wonderful way to give back to the community, but volunteering with other coworkers also gave us a great opportunity for team building,” said Bob Boedges, THLE’s Chief Operating Officer and a participant at the event. “I enjoyed getting to know to get to my teammates and colleagues outside of the office while helping out.”
Operation Backpack (a part of Operation Food Search) began in 2008, and currently distributes around 8,500 backpacks every week to kids in Missouri and Illinois.
Students in need are discreetly given food-filled backpacks to take home enabling them to come back to school on Monday with the good nutrition and focus they need to achieve academic success.
In August THLE-sponsored athlete Karolina Zavisiute took on the brutal Bigfoot 200 ultra marathon in order to raise money for Operation Backpack, part of Operation Food Search. Zavisiute raised more than $2500 for the charity on her own, and additional donations from other employees brought the total amount raised to over $4000.
The Home Loan Expert is planning to host future events benefitting Operation Backpack—including a food and coat drive in November—and hopes to raise even more money for the organization in the months to come. To learn more about volunteer opportunities at THLE and our community events, click here.
John Cronin
