CAPE CORAL, Fla. -- What began as an inter-office challenge between co-workers will end with Thanksgiving dinner for hundreds of needy families. Wednesday, an advertising company, Cape Coral Police, and the Harry Chapin Food Bank teamed up for something no one thought was possible.
There are times when a single can snowballs into a mountain of giving and good will.
"To be able to help our community in such a way, my heart is bursting." Vikki Lewis gets emotional when she talks about the amount of food she and her co-workers at Caldwell and Kerr Advertising were able to collect for needy families.
"It's going to be hundreds, if not thousands of families are going to be impacted by this," says Cape Coral Police Captain Anthony Sizemore, who knows a lot about collecting food.
Just before Thanksgiving five years ago, he and other officers started a food drive. Together, they collected about 200 pounds. "But we wanted a real impact. So I reached out to the SWAT team," says Capt. Sizemore.
Turns out everybody loves the SWAT team. Wednesday, they came out and held a demonstration for the workers at Caldwell and Kerr as a kind of 'thank you' for collecting so much food.
Thursday, the SWAT team will head out to Walmarts in Cape Coral to meet shoppers, show off their equipment, and collect more food.
"Today's the appetizer, tomorrow's the main course," says Sizemore.
The Harry Chapin Food Bank will distribute what Caldwell and Kerr, and CCPD, collect. Their total goal for both was five tons of food. Incredibly, they've already collected six tons.
"Never in a million years would've thought that we would gather over six tons of food," says Lewis.
"This food will wind up being a plate of food on a table in front of a child, or a working poor family, or a senior who needs help," says Miriam Pereira at Harry Chapin. "And that's why we do this, and that's why we need the community's support to do this."
A spokesperson for the food bank says the organization still needs turkey donations for Thanksgiving, and more food for families at Christmas.
You can help at www.harrychapinfoodbank.org/donate.
