Heroes of Everyday Life - 2010

Our 2010 Heroes of Everyday Life are recognized at the annual Sodexo Foundation Dinner for their contribution to help many of the 49 million people at risk of hunger in the United States.

Paul J. Belski
General Manager at Endicott College, Beverly, MA
Paul organizes two canned food drives each year – one in the fall as part of the Sodexo-sponsored “Helping Hands Across America” program and another in December, at the office holiday party. Over the last four years these efforts have resulted in more than 2,000 pounds of canned goods and approximately $1,500 for the Beverly Bootstraps Food Pantry. In addition, Paul and his staff repackage surplus food for the River House, a local men’s shelter, providing 39 meals seven-nights a week for men in need. Without these food donations that Paul coordinates, the shelter would not be able to provide any evening meals and would have to turn people away.

James Brown
General Manager at Hillsborough Community College, Tampa, FL
James and his wife prepare, package and deliver an average of 35 hot meals to needy individuals each month. Every Thanksgiving and Christmas they increase their efforts to nearly 125 meals. James also actively engages his team during Sodexo Servathon each April, leading a team of volunteers at Feeding America Tampa Bay. All told, through the last ten years, James’ efforts have provided nearly 6,000 meals. Listen to James' interview.

Dale V. Draper
Housekeeper at Clarian Arnett Health, Lafayette, IN
Since Dale opened his church ministry food pantry in 2005 he has been providing 50 families with boxes of fresh and non-perishable food items each weekend, helping more than 18,000 families to date. In 2008, Dale also started delivering bags of food and meals to about 400 seniors in need. Dale’s monthly dinner program feeds homeless and low-income families, helping more than 6,000 people since 2005. Dale’s motivation and driving spirit recently rallied the Sodexo housekeeping department at Clarian Arnett Health to donate food and volunteer to serve 300 holiday meals during Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Thomas Jackson
Chef at Weber State University, Ogden, UT
Thomas dedicates much of his time, energy and personal resources to help provide meals to people in need throughout the Ogden community. He volunteers his time (over 2,900 hours over the last 17 years) at the Marshall White Center, helping at-risk youth and others in need of food, clothing and toiletries. Each November and December Thomas prepares and serves holiday meals, often donating money as well as his time. Every year, for Martin Luther King Day, Thomas cooks and serves breakfast to the needy at the Marshall White Center, which provides more than 4,000 meals to honor the legacy of the civil rights leader.

Anne McDevitt
General Manager at Kroontje Healthcare Center, Blacksburg, VA
Anne continues to fight hunger, as she has done since the age of six, when she started serving coffee at the Manna Meal soup kitchen. Today, she uses her knowledge to provide nutrition advice to those she serves at her local soup kitchen. She also leads the annual New River Empty Bowl initiative in Floyd, Virginia, raising $15,000 for the local food bank. Anne engages Sodexo employees and residents to volunteer their time to help – collecting more than 9,000 pounds of food. Whenever Anne visits her hometown, she can often be found working alongside her father, serving meals where it all began at Manna Meal. View Anne's story.

Patricia Medley
Kitchen Manager at Salem-Keizer School District, Salem, OR
Patricia (Patty) shows her dedication and concern for others by volunteering to help the homeless. Every month Patty volunteers at the Union Gospel Mission (UGM). Over the last 12 years, UGM has come to rely on Patty to handle a variety of tasks including organizing chapel services and helping to provide more than 40,000 meals to families in need. Patty also touches the lives of others in the community by spearheading clothing drives for Simonka Place – a shelter for homeless women and their families.

Theresa Morris
Catering Supervisor at University of Louisville, Louisville, KY
Theresa’s commitment to fighting hunger spans two decades. She rescues surplus food from church events and, for the last six years, from the University of Louisville as well. Theresa has helped rescue about 24,000 pounds of food that has provided tens of thousands of meals for those at risk of hunger in the Louisville area. In the fall, Theresa spearheads the “Helping Hands Across America” food drive, collecting 6,930 pounds of food for the Dare to Care Food Bank.

Dennis E. Shepherd
Driver at USMC East Coast Camp Lejeune, Camp Lejeune, NC
Dennis has been instrumental in the success of Sodexo Servathon at the USMC by organizing and delivering food donations to the Onslow Community Ministries Kitchen and Religious Community Services. Since 2004, Dennis has collected and delivered 18,000 pounds of food. Every day after Dennis finishes his regular work day, he volunteers ten hours a week, doing charitable jobs including cutting grass and baking cakes to help rustle up food donations, supplies, and money for local charities. Dennis also engages in creative activities such as posting advertisements to help spread the word and encouraging others to help support people who need help in the community. To date, Dennis has collected in-kind and monetary donations valued at $20,000 for children and families in need.

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