On behalf of American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 3960, President and Kansas City field office program analyst Treka Henry, presented a check for $500 to Harvesters. Harvesters is a food network that helps those experiencing barriers to quality, affordable groceries and other food items. Local 3960 proudly represents over 50 employees who work in various programs for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) such as Public and Indian Housing (PIH) and Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO). Being passionate public service-minded employees focused on HUD’s mission, at the end of each year, Local 3960 members nominate and then hold a vote on a community organization to present a specified amount of donations. In recent years, Local 3960 members have voted to give back to organizations such as Harvesters and the Heartland of America Chapter of Alzheimer’s Association.

Given the longstanding presence Harvesters has had in the community for many years, the members voted to give back to Harvesters again this year. Following the presentation on February 23, 2024 – volunteers and staff at the Harvesters warehouse provided a brief tour, highlighting the percentage of food items that the organization receives from various resources in the Harvesters Service Area, the disaster response operations they’ve supported and the large volume of food items necessary to support multiple relief programs, such as the Backpack program aimed at connecting children in need with new backpacks for the school year and access to nutritious sources of no-cost food.

When asked about the desire for Local 3960 to donate personal funds to charity each year, Henry said that, “As federal employees, we feel blessed to serve the public every day in our jobs but sometimes even that doesn’t feel like enough and so it is with sincere gratitude that we are able and willing to bring these modest funds forward to help.”

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