MSC Agent Allison Sadar delivers food from Mattisons Forty-One to the firefighters of Sarasota County Fire Department Station 11.
As our community continues to adapt to this uncharted but temporary way of life, we continue to see how we are uniting to face challenges together. Strength in numbers is not just a passing phrase, but a testament to finding solutions. Feed a Healthcare Hero is proving this to be true in just a short amount of time.
During a recent virtual meeting with the Siesta Key office, manager Melinda Gray shared acts of kindness from news stories and social media content she had read. One of them was how a community was donating meals for those in need. This was a lightbulb moment that inspired agent Brian Loebker.
He conceived Feed a Healthcare Hero as a way to meet many needs in our area by uniting the three biggest industries throughout Manatee and Sarasota counties to support each other during this time – healthcare, restaurants and real estate.
A Facebook post from Sarasota Memorial Hospital.
“All of us are facing new and unprecedented challenges,” Brian explained. “How do you find one thing that benefits all three or use one to benefit the other? Restaurants are struggling to stay open by making one or two orders a day. So, I thought why not raise money to buy meals from these restaurants and use the agents (who are deemed essential workers) to volunteer their time to pick up and deliver the meals to feed the healthcare workers.”
On April 5th, Brian formed a GoFundMe page for donations of a $25 minimum and used social media to spread the word. The response was immediate and has exceeded his expectations.
“I had no idea what I was getting myself into,” Brian said jokingly. “The response has been out of control.”
“The amount of private messages I have gotten from nurses and healthcare professionals is just unbelievable. And from the restaurants, holy cow, they were just so thankful. ” Brian said. “And the Realtors; I think we have almost 100 volunteers, and we’ve only been launched a couple of days.”
Brian plans to continue Feed a Healthcare Hero until the first week of May, at the least. All safety measures and protocols are being followed to ensure everyone stays healthy and complies with state requirements.
So far, over $25,000 has been raised and more than 30 local restaurants are being supported to provide nearly 450 meals.
To get involved, donate to Feed A Healthcare Hero.
We love hearing about your good deeds and sharing positive messages. Write and send your stories to communications@michaelsaunders.com with photos and we will share them on our blog and social media.
You might also like:
Amazing acts of kindness: MSC agents spread good cheer amid covid-19
Message from Leadership – COVID-19
MSC Foundation concludes 2019 with $58,000 in donations