Members of Telfair Museums donated more than 1,000 pounds of food to local food bank America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia to cap off 2020. 

The museum organized the food drive with a portion of each membership renewal during the month of December supporting the donation. Altogether, 263 museum members raised $1,315 to purchase 1,116 pounds of food for the food bank.

“If 2020 taught us anything, it’s that we’re all connected,” said Calli Laundré, Telfair’s development manager, who organized the food drive. “Working together and raising each other up builds a better and stronger community.” 

Throughout 2020, Telfair’s education team partnered with Second Harvest and other area nonprofits to distribute thousands of free art kits along with meals to the community during the pandemic. The food drive was another way to give back. Laundré and the museum’s senior leadership team conceived of the effort as an alternative to Telfair’s usual end-of-year donations push.

“Historically, we might have come out and just said, ‘Look, this has been a tough year, please give,’” explained Jason Kendall, the museum’s public relations director. “But we know it’s been hard on everyone, especially other area nonprofits. We looked at our large membership base and recognized, ‘Here’s a way we can mobilize our giving so that it reaches beyond our buildings’ walls, to folks who really could use an extra hand.’”

“We appreciate the Telfair members for answering the call to support both organizations and the individuals we serve,” Laundré said. “The Telfair staff for their assistance in bringing our food drive to fruition, and the dedicated hard work of Second Harvest providing hunger relief to thousands of people each y