DALLAS, July 11, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- In concluding a charitable campaign at the end of June, employee teams from real estate firm, Basic Capital Management, Inc., happily heaped more than a ton and a half - 3,341 pounds - of non-perishable food and cases of other essentials on volunteers at the Metrocrest Social Service Center food pantry in Carrollton, Tx.
At first, the real estate investment firm launched a small "Back to Basics" employee volunteer food drive at its corporate headquarters at One Hickory Center at Mercer Crossing in Farmers Branch, Tx.
However, the contest escalated into what workers are calling a "food fight" when the Capital Markets group challenged the Legal department to try and match their efforts in collecting cases of canned food before the June 27 deadline. Within hours, almost every department in the company had charged into the contest.
The Basic Capital teams employed numerous strategies leading up to the final count that would determine what their rivals were doing to try and win the interdepartmental challenges. In the end, BCM's hotel group, Regis Hotel Corporation, was hailed overall champion with 22 cases of edibles weighing in at 561 pounds. In all, more than 100 cases of canned food and 119 cases of other edibles, as well as 30 cases of miscellaneous items (including toiletries) were collected and turned over to Metrocrest Social Services Center, which serves families in Farmers Branch, Carrollton, Addison and Coppell, Tx.
Bunny Summerlin, executive director or Metrocrest Social Services Center, said of the BCM donation, "BCM's timing of the food drive was just perfect as our food pantry supply traditionally runs low during the summer months due to families having children out of school while facing increased utility expenses, and the higher unemployment rate is a factor as well." Summerlin added, "This gift allows us to meet our standard of offering a consistent choice of foods to the families we serve."
"Companies must step up and be good corporate citizens. We've found that sponsorship of our employees' volunteerism is a most cost efficient way to invest in teambuilding, morale and career development. The time and monies allotted to our Back to Basics program is small, but the benefit to the employees, the company and the community at large are much greater," said Cal Rossi, Jr., executive vice president of Basic Capital Management, Inc. "Basic Capital would like to challenge the other companies in our industry to meet or exceed what our employees have collected for the food pantry," said Rossi, "as we continue with our efforts."
Summerlin reported that Metrocrest's food pantry served 66 families in the past seven days, a total of 193 individuals, ranging in age from three weeks to 80 years old, but its ultimate goal is to prevent homelessness. As part of its short-term emergency assistance program, Metrocrest provides help with the payment of rent, utilities, transportation and prescription medicine, as well as employment assistance and referrals to other health and social service resources within the community.
"By feeding families and assisting them in retaining the home they now have, we prevent a more costly tragedy - losing their homes and essentially everything in it - from furniture to bedding to dishes," said Summerlin. "Once a family is homeless, it takes a tremendous cost and effort to return them to a home and replace all that is lost," she added.
Metrocrest Social Services Center office, thrift store and food bank are located at 1103 S. Josey Lane, Suite 114, Carrollton, Texas 75006 (Tel: 972-446-2100). For more information on the agency, go to the web site at www.socialservicecenter.org.
Basic Capital Management, Inc. is a Dallas-based real estate investment company and is advisor to three publicly traded real estate entities that invest in equity interests in real estate through direct ownership and partnerships. BCM's headquarters is located within the Mercer Crossing development at 1800 Valley View Lane in Farmers Branch. More information is available at the company's web site at www.bcm-inc.com.
Photos available by request.