PAR has announced that Feeding America is the recipient of its annual Pay It Forward program!
“PAR has been incredibly fortunate as a company,” stated Kristin Greco, CEO. “A few years ago, we decided to make a charitable contribution on behalf of our Customers to an organization chosen by those we serve. Each year, we select a new charity to honor.”
PAR surveyed its Customers throughout the month of November, asking them to choose their favorite organization from a list. Now that results have been tallied, PAR is proud to announce that on behalf of its Customers, a $5,000 donation will be made to Feeding America.
“We are so inspired by the work our Customers do, and Feeding America is doing work that is important to them,” said Greco. “It is an honor to be able to pay it forward to such a worthy organization.”
View a video of CEO Kristin Greco announcing this year's recipient here.
PAR is so grateful for all you have done this year to help those you serve. We would like to take this opportunity to honor our Customers during our annual Pay It Forward campaign. Check your e-mail tomorrow for a list of charities with a link to select your favorite. On behalf of our Customers, we will give a $5,000 donation to whichever charity receives the most votes.
“We are so inspired by the work our Customers do, and it is an honor to be able to donate on their behalf to a worthy organization of their choosing,” said PAR CEO Kristin Greco. “We are so fortunate to be able to pay it forward.”
This year, you will be able to choose between the American Red Cross, the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, the California Fire Foundation, Feeding America, and Prevent Child Abuse America.
We are grateful to assist you in the important work you do, and we are thankful for your business! Thank you for helping us to Pay it Forward!
Each year, PAR employees take part in a week-long United Way fundraising campaign. This year, we exceeded our fundraising goal, resulting in nearly $102,000 in employee contributions to help United Way Suncoast and their partner agencies! This surpassed our 2019 giving by 1.6%, an incredible achievement in such a challenging year. We are proud to say that through our involvement with United Way, we will help make a difference in the lives of so many people in the Tampa Bay area.
Learn more about how you can help United Way in your community!
Tomorrow is Veterans Day in the U.S., a day we pause to pay tribute, honor, and thank those who have served in the branches of our armed forces.
PAR would like to sincerely thank each and every one of you who made the choice to serve our country and defend our freedom. You chose to leave familiar surroundings, family, and friends in service to your country. Your sacrifice has made a true difference in the life of every American and is a debt we can never truly repay, but we can certainly tell you just how much we value and appreciate your selflessness. It is the foundation that our country is built on.
We’d also like to give a special thanks to the members of our PAR staff who have served in our military.
Thank you for your service and thank you to all veterans on this special day!
PAR would like to thank you for all you have done—especially this year—to help those you serve. We would like to take this opportunity to honor our Customers during our annual Pay It Forward campaign. Keep your eyes on your email—in the next week, you will be receiving a list of charities with a link to select your favorite. On behalf of our Customers, we will give a $5,000 donation to whichever charity receives the most votes.
We are grateful to assist you in the important work you do and we are thankful for your business!
One of PAR’s core values is to give back to the community, and our dedicated staff provide time and resources to a variety of causes. This blog is one in a series about what drew our staff members to become involved with various charities. Today’s blog focuses on David Houser’s relationship with Metropolitan Ministries.
When David Houser, PAR’s director of sales, began heading up PAR’s involvement with Metropolitan Ministries several years ago, he knew this local, grassroots community nonprofit served struggling and homeless families throughout Tampa Bay. However, there is no way he ever could have expected the increase in need they would see once the pandemic hit.
“Food insecurity in this country is something that shouldn’t even be an issue,” said David, who leads the PAR team in food and gift drives throughout the year. “I’ve always had an interest in feeding people, taking care of that basic need, and making sure people have that ability to thrive.”
In 2019, Metropolitan Ministries served nearly 2 million meals and helped nearly 20,000 families with its support services. The organization provides food services, housing programs, family support services, and beyond. Since March, however, demand has skyrocketed with requests up 75% over the prior year—with the majority of the increase in requests coming from first-time recipients.
“That’s pretty dramatic when you talk about someone who has never needed assistance before,” said David, who normally leads a summer food drive. Knowing that PAR staff could not be in person this year to bring in items to help those in need, he decided instead to host a virtual fundraising drive to help the organization meet the demand it was seeing. PAR staff were able to raise more than $3,600 to donate to Metropolitan Ministries general fund, which they can use for their facilities, to fund programs, expand meal service, or to house the 113 families who live on their campus.
“They are not just a food bank,” said David, explaining why he identifies so strongly with Metropolitan Ministries vision. “They have people living on campus. They offer programs. They want to sustain the whole person and get them back on their feet.”
To learn more about Metropolitan Ministries and how you can get involved in helping their cause, visit their website.
We have created PARcares as a resource to offer a hand up to those most in need. With shareable videos, blogs, and lists of free resources, PARcares is our way to show how much we care not only for our Customers, but for those you serve.
If you think someone would benefit from these resources, feel free to share them directly or through your social media channels. We will be updating regularly with new and helpful content to be used and shared with everyone.
We are all in this together.
One of PAR’s core values is to give back to the community, and our dedicated staff provide time and resources to a variety of causes. This blog is the first in a series about what drew our staff members to become involved with various charities. Today’s blog focuses on Jim Eddy’s relationship with Trinity Café.
When he was in high school, PAR Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer Jim Eddy’s mother left for good. Soon after, his father decided to leave town. He told Jim he had minutes to move out. Suddenly, Jim found himself without a home.
The youngest of five children, he needed to find a way to support himself, so he walked into First Florida Bank in Fort Myers looking for work.
“Gotta eat; need a job,” he told them. They walked him into the computer room—which no one in the bank wanted to learn. He didn’t know how to operate a computer, either, he told them. A woman pointed to some manuals nearby and told him, “That’s what the big books are for. You better start reading.” That was the day Jim started on his career path in computers.
About six years ago, Jim, who came to PAR in 2013, learned about Trinity Café. A program of Feeding Tampa Bay, Trinity Cafe is a free full-service restaurant for those in need. Seven days a week, guests take part in a restaurant-style experience, complete with a three-course meal. Volunteers serve, act as hosts, and bus tables. Trinity Café’s message resonated with Jim, and he organized a group of volunteers from PAR—known for its commitment to community—to serve. Today, Jim spearheads a group from PAR to make the trip to Trinity Café three times each year.
“You do a lot of things and often never see the outcome,” Jim said. “At Trinity Café, you serve and you see the outcome as you do it. It’s not abstract.” Jim believes that many other PAR staff members continue to volunteer at each opportunity because they can see how their work helps someone in an immediate way.
“My career has been fast-paced and I’ve raised a family with my wife Shari,” said Jim, who sees his involvement with Trinity Café as one way to integrate his strong Christian faith into the workplace, “but it limited my time to help others. It bothered me that I wasn’t able to do more. If you aren’t helping others, then faith is meaningless. PAR makes it easy to help others.”
Each year, PAR employees take part in a week-long United Way fundraising campaign. For more than 25 years, 100% of PAR staff members have contributed during our annual drive. This year, we exceeded our fundraising goal, resulting in more than $100,408.34 in employee contributions to help United Way Suncoast and their partner agencies! We are proud to say that through our involvement with United Way, we will help make a difference in the lives of so many people in the Tampa Bay area.
This year, our theme was “Make Your Move,” and staff were divided into different chess-piece-themed teams. To see a few photos of our week, check out PAR’s new Instagram account.
The staff at PAR is known for its generosity, volunteerism, and love of animals. These three traits tied together March 23 at Bark in the Park, an annual fundraiser for the Humane Society of Tampa Bay held in downtown Tampa.
The event featured a variety of animal-themed events, games, and vendors and culminated in a Walk for the Animals along Tampa’s picturesque River Walk. The PAR team, known as the PARty Animals, was this year’s second-highest fundraising pack. Several pack members brought family and fur-friends in support of the event, and one pack member even adopted a new member of the family!
Overall, nearly 100 teams and more than 450 participants helped the Humane Society exceed its Bark in the Park goal by raising nearly $150,000. Those funds will be used to house, heal, and help rehome thousands of local animals.
One of PAR’s core tenets is to give back to the community, and our employees frequently donate their time and resources to help local organizations like the Humane Society of Tampa Bay. Learn more.