Community Involvement
Farm Credit Bank employees open their wallets and literally spill blood, sweat and tears to help their neighbors and to improve the community in which they live and work.
During the past year, our team members have given their time and talent to a variety of projects, including:
Capital Area Food Bank - Farm Credit employees raised $5,000 for the Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB) in Austin as part of the organization’s sponsorship of the Texas Department of Agriculture’s GO TEXAN Restaurant Round-Up. Farm Credit Bank of Texas matched those contributions, bringing the total raised to $10,000, and a check was presented to CAFB President/CEO David Davenport during Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples’ news conference on Sept. 24 announcing the Restaurant Round-Up.
The Restaurant Round-Up is a weeklong dine-out event that showcases restaurants across the state that serve locally produced food and wines. During the week of Sept. 28-Oct.2, participating restaurants offered special Texas menu items, food and wine pairings, or a Texas wine list. The menus emphasized the hard work of Texas farmers, ranchers and chefs. Local communities also benefited, as many of the participating restaurants donated a portion of their proceeds to local food banks.
“Our mission for the past 93 years has been to be a source of financial credit to the farmers and ranchers that are the backbone of the agriculture industry," Stan Ray, vice president of marketing and corporate relations at Farm Credit Bank of Texas, said. "We're proud to be a part of the GO TEXAN Restaurant Round-Up because it supports the industry we serve.”
Coats for Kids - Since 2006, employees have donated 120 coats and more than $3,800 to the Annual Coats for Kids drive in Austin. This community project collects and distributes warm winter coats to Central Texas children and teenagers who otherwise might do without.
Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure - Employees, family members and friends walked in the 2009 Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. Farm Credit was also a sponsor of the race. This was the sixth year that the bank had a team participating in the 5K race and the fourth year the bank was a corporate sponsor.
MLK Day of Service - Several Farm Credit Bank of Texas employees joined participants from around the Austin area to paint and decorate 100 benches as part of the MLK Day of Service recently. Teams incorporated quotes from Dr. King on their benches, which were distributed to various community and neighborhood centers and nonprofit organizations in Central Texas.
United Way - Farm Credit Bank of Texas employees are quick to participate in the United Way annual fund drive. For 2010, they collectively pledged more than $24,300 for the many agencies that partner with the United Way Capital Area. Employees also participate in the United Way Day of Caring, where we sent a team to Southwest Key’s Empowerment Garden for East Austin, a brand new garden for the blossoming community center serving East Austin.
Cowboy Breakfast - Farm Credit employees were up and at ‘em well before the crack of dawn March 5, to greet and serve an estimated 5,000 hungry people at the 2010 Annual Cowboy Breakfast at Auditorium Shores in Austin.
The free 6 a.m. outdoor breakfast marked the kickoff of the Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo, which is one of the largest nonprofit organizations in the Austin area. For the third year in a row, Farm Credit volunteers helped to welcome the crowd of early risers with coffee poured from old-fashioned black kettles, and to serve cowboy classics such as biscuits and gravy.
The fair and rodeo raised more than $1.5 million for youth-related programs, scholarships and preservation of Western heritage. The event was open to the general public. Farm Credit was a sponsor of the breakfast, as well as the steer wrestling event at each performance of the rodeo.