Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include the complete name of one person quoted.
The Oak Park north Athletico Physical Therapy clinic was selected to allocate a $1,000 grant to a community nonprofit of their choice, awarding it to Beyond Hunger, a local hunger relief agency.
Teri Miller, director of development for Beyond Hunger, said the $1,000 grant was a huge surprise and was stunned when presented with the check.
“$1,000 for a pantry like ours goes a long way,” she said. “We usually say $1 equals three meals, so that’s 3,000 meals from their very generous donation.”
Beyond Hunger works to provide the most healthy and nutritious food possible for the people they serve, she said, including fresh fruits and vegetables as well as food low in salt and sugar. The organization also tried to collect food specific to the dietary preferences of the populations they serve, Miller said.
Athletico teams across the country participate in a “PT Day of Service” initiative, which encourages employees to donate their time and give back to the community they serve. The Athletico Cares Foundation then randomly selects five of those teams to each donate a $1,000 grant to a 501(c)(3) community nonprofit of their choice, said Dana Andreoli, director of external communications and public relations at Athletico Physical Therapy.
“All these organizations benefit the health and wellbeing of their communities in some fashion,” she said.
The Oak Park north Athletico team decided to have about a 6-week food drive in August and September for Beyond Hunger, said Cindy Krebsbach, clinic manager at the Oak Park north Athletico Physical Therapy. It can be difficult to coordinate all the staff’s schedule for a day of volunteering, Krebsbach said, but the food drive allowed everyone to participate and get involved.
“We did that actually last year for the first time, and it was really successful,” she said. “They’re [Beyond Hunger] a great organization to work with.”
The team was able to collect and donate non-perishable food and personal goods such as feminine products for Beyond Hunger, Krebsbach said. Athletico’s total donation amount was 160 pounds of food, Miller said.
It’s not unusual for local groups to do fundraisers for Beyond Hunger, Miller said, and the organization sometimes suggests groups focus donations on specialty items, such as feminine products or toilet paper, that can be expensive and not donated as often.
The $1,000 check was presented to Beyond Hunger in early December, Krebsbach said.
“Everyone there was really thankful and excited about this donation,” she said.
Although the team at Athletico was unable to coordinate a day for volunteering this year, Krebsbach said she hopes next year the staff can attend the nonprofit’s training program and volunteer together.
Beyond Hunger will occasionally have abbreviated versions of the training process for groups who want to volunteer together, Miller said. The Athletico team also intends to organize the food drive again next year, Krebsbach said.
“It was fun, and it always feels good to give back,” Krebsbach said.
The Athletico Cares Foundation was established in 2020, Andreoli said, to help its employees undergoing hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has since evolved to also support healthcare workers and the communities the organization serves.
“This past year, [I was] super, super pleased to see over 700 of our employees participate in 52 projects,” she said. “They contributed over 450 hours of service.”
The foundation ensures the organizations receiving the $1,000 grants are 501(c)(3) nonprofits, Andreoli said. The money for the grants comes from fundraising done by the foundation, she said.
“We’re super excited to continue to grow the foundation and our impact,” she said.
