DENVER –
A contracts team within Defense Contract Management Agency’s Mountain Pacific region demonstrated its commitment to teamwork and community service June 24 by using their personal time to volunteer at the Food Bank of the Rockies.
As part of its ongoing efforts to strengthen team relationships and foster a welcoming culture, the team organizes monthly teambuilding events. For June, the team chose an impactful activity: an order selection event at the food bank’s distribution center.
The nonprofit organization serves Colorado and Wyoming, distributing 185,000 meals daily through a network of community partners.
The DCMA team, working alongside other community volunteers, prepared 97 pallets of food. This totaled nearly 70,000 pounds of essential goods, enough to serve over 57,000 meals to individuals and families facing hunger in the local community.
Following their volunteer work, the team further solidified their collective bond, said Mark Wolfe, an administrative contracting/grants/agreements officer for DCMA Mountain Pacific.
“The team had an altruistic interest in using one of its normal teambuilding events to not only grow closer together but to also give back to the community,” Wolfe said. “The team's commitment to both professional excellence and community engagement serves as an excellent example of the agency's values.”
Meredith Kirkendall, a contract specialist for DCMA headquarters, also found the event rewarding.
“Our team genuinely enjoys spending time together, so we’ve done a variety of activities from simple team lunches to playing live Monopoly," said Kirkendall. "We also enjoy giving back to our community, and volunteering for the Food Bank of the Rockies was the perfect opportunity. Not only was it rewarding to fulfill orders that would help create over 57,000 meals, but I loved seeing the personal connections for the local organizations we were helping.”
This sentiment was also expressed by fellow team member Stephanie Sturdevant, a contract administrator for DCMA Western Regional Command.
“Volunteering at Food Bank of the Rockies was an eye-opening experience in which I was able to work with other local volunteers and my DCMA team,” she said. “When we were presented with the numbers of how many meals we helped prepare, I was awestruck at how many meals were packaged in just four hours and shipped to their respective missions. This was an amazing opportunity, and I am so thankful to have been able to support my local community.”