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‘Group synergy’ makes Home Team Harvest a success

Microsoft Alumni Foundation and Microsoft partner with KING-TV for Home Team Harvest

The first year of a partnership between the Microsoft Alumni Foundation, Microsoft, and KING-TV for the 11^th annual Home Team Harvest Food Drive turned out to be an unqualified success.

Microsoft alum Melissa Johnson with the food being donated to Northwest Harvest by Microsoft and Microsoft Alumni Foundation. The goal of the month-long drive was to raise 1 million meals’ worth of cash and food donations for Northwest Harvest, the nonprofit organization that supplies food banks throughout Washington state. That goal was exceeded by 150 percent — the final tally showed 2,453,297 meals were collected to feed the less fortunate in the Puget Sound area.

According to Northwest Harvest leaders, every 67 cents donated can provide one meal for a family of three. A meal is also determined by the weight of food donated, with 1.3 pounds of food equaling one meal.

“I am very proud to have Microsoft Alumni working side by side with KING TV and Microsoft employees to make a difference in our community,” said Marylou Brannan, Executive Director of the Microsoft Alumni Foundation. Melissa Johnson, a Microsoft alumni public relations volunteer who forged the organization’s relationship with KING 5, agrees. “Joining with KING TV and many others on such a worthy cause is an honor. It speaks volumes when so many people come together to do so much good.”
Cash donations are still being accepted through area U.S. Bank branches (see this website for more information).

Throughout November and early December, donations were being collected at food bins and drop boxes throughout the Puget Sound area, including most Microsoft buildings.

Microsoft Alumni Foundation Executive Director Marylou Brannan interviewed live by KING-TV reporter Mimi Jung But the big event in the food drive was the collection of food and cash at seven area drop-off sites on Saturday, Dec. 3. Those sites included Redmond Town Center, Northgate Mall, Everett Mall, Tacoma Mall, the U.S. Bank branch at Southcenter, the Central Kitsap Food Bank in Silverdale, and the Top Foods at Olympic Gateway Plaza in Aberdeen.

KING-TV promoted the event and the food drive through numerous on-air and online stories. The station’s personalities also appeared at most of the seven sites on Dec. 3, and teamed with dozens of volunteers from the Microsoft Alumni Foundation, Microsoft, and Northwest Harvest at the Redmond Town Center site to help secure the donations. Also on hand to perform were members of the Seahawks Blue Thunder drum ensemble.

At Redmond Town Center, volunteers accepted donations from motorists and others who passed though. They also unloaded to food bins a Microsoft Dining Services truck full of boxes of food and canned drinks donated by Microsoft vendor Eurest Dining Services.

“By having our alumni do this in combination with Microsoft employees and your station, it makes it more powerful,” Brannan said to KING-5 anchor/reporter Mimi Jung in an on-air interview.

Jon Roskill, Microsoft corporat Microsoft alumni volunteers along with Microsoft employees unloading food from the Microsoft Food Services truck e vice president, also appeared at the event, and noted that “Microsoft employees have been big supporters of Northwest Harvest for many years.” Indeed, company employees have donated more than $4 million in cash donations, as well as thousands of pounds of food and more than 10,000 volunteer hours to Northwest Harvest since 2001, according to Northwest Harvest.

“It’s just amazing how people in our communities and our companies can come together like this for a cause,” said KING-TV’s Jung.

Added longtime KING meteorologist Jeff Renner, “I live in Sammamish, and a lot of my neighbors have worked or now work for Microsoft. To have the backing of such a major company and its employees and alums is very important. … The group synergy we have here makes it all come together so much better.”

Monte Enbysk is a Microsoft alum (1999-2010) and a Bellevue-based editor and writer.

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