I. Background of Non-Profit Organization and the Community
Irving Cares is located in Irving, Texas, Dallas County. Demographics include: median age of 31 years old, Zales, Verizon, and D/FW Airport are major employers, the median household income is $50,000, and the 2015 population was 228,000 ("General Information | Irving, TX - Official Website," 2016). Irving Cares only provides assistance for residents of Irving. Hispanic is the dominant race at 40% followed by Whites at 28% and construction is the leading industry with 14% of the population living in poverty ("Irving, Texas," 2016).
Irving Cares assists only Irving residents. The main source of assistance is providing food for the hungry. According to the Irving Cares website, “An …show more content…
The staff was 100% volunteers until 1973. Originally named Irving Aid, the name was changed to Irving Cares in 1991 with Cares meaning “Community Assistance Referral and Emergency Services” ("About Irving cares," 2016). Kyle Taylor, coordinator of volunteers at Irving Cares, relayed to me on my first day, Wednesday, February 17, 2016, that he supervises over 200 volunteers a year and that volunteers mainly work in the food pantry sorting and shelving food products as well as filling client food orders. Some volunteers are regulars and come in on a weekly basis because they love to help and some volunteers are from local businesses, or students from the high schools in Irving who need to acquire community service hours for their educational requirements. Irving Cares depends on volunteerism to be successful. Irving Cares has had students from UTT volunteer in the past. Irving Cares has approximately 13 employees including caseworkers and intake processors who work in the front office while most of the volunteers work in the back warehouse on food pantry …show more content…
Also, Irving Cares issues FOCUS, a newsletter, to promote their cause and highlight the experiences of volunteers and recipients. One article illustrates the importance of buying less food so it does not go to waste because Americans are quite wasteful with food. Another article mentions that there are more renters paying higher rent prices and this causes less money left over to buy food for their families. This is why Irving Cares is the largest, full-time managed, and main source of food assistance for the citizens of Irving. The newsletter offers this statistic, “The help of extraordinary volunteers makes Irving Cares possible. Last year, volunteers logged 21, 887 hours” (Irving Cares [Newsletter], 2016)! Irving Cares is open Monday through Friday and closed on the
Irving Cares is located in Irving, Texas, Dallas County. Demographics include: median age of 31 years old, Zales, Verizon, and D/FW Airport are major employers, the median household income is $50,000, and the 2015 population was 228,000 ("General Information | Irving, TX - Official Website," 2016). Irving Cares only provides assistance for residents of Irving. Hispanic is the dominant race at 40% followed by Whites at 28% and construction is the leading industry with 14% of the population living in poverty ("Irving, Texas," 2016).
Irving Cares assists only Irving residents. The main source of assistance is providing food for the hungry. According to the Irving Cares website, “An …show more content…
The staff was 100% volunteers until 1973. Originally named Irving Aid, the name was changed to Irving Cares in 1991 with Cares meaning “Community Assistance Referral and Emergency Services” ("About Irving cares," 2016). Kyle Taylor, coordinator of volunteers at Irving Cares, relayed to me on my first day, Wednesday, February 17, 2016, that he supervises over 200 volunteers a year and that volunteers mainly work in the food pantry sorting and shelving food products as well as filling client food orders. Some volunteers are regulars and come in on a weekly basis because they love to help and some volunteers are from local businesses, or students from the high schools in Irving who need to acquire community service hours for their educational requirements. Irving Cares depends on volunteerism to be successful. Irving Cares has had students from UTT volunteer in the past. Irving Cares has approximately 13 employees including caseworkers and intake processors who work in the front office while most of the volunteers work in the back warehouse on food pantry …show more content…
Also, Irving Cares issues FOCUS, a newsletter, to promote their cause and highlight the experiences of volunteers and recipients. One article illustrates the importance of buying less food so it does not go to waste because Americans are quite wasteful with food. Another article mentions that there are more renters paying higher rent prices and this causes less money left over to buy food for their families. This is why Irving Cares is the largest, full-time managed, and main source of food assistance for the citizens of Irving. The newsletter offers this statistic, “The help of extraordinary volunteers makes Irving Cares possible. Last year, volunteers logged 21, 887 hours” (Irving Cares [Newsletter], 2016)! Irving Cares is open Monday through Friday and closed on the