Making a Difference in Phoenix
For the homeless men, women, and children of Phoenix supported by St. Mary’s Food Bank, a helping hand came from an unexpected source – just over 1,000 snack packs totaling 1,002 lbs. assembled by the attendees of the 2018 INFORMS Annual Meeting, held in Phoenix, November 4-7. Pro Bono Analytics partnered with St. Mary’s Food Bank, America’s first food bank, to provide much needed snack packs donated by INFORMS and its conference community.
In the weeks leading up to the meeting, INFORMS members and conference sponsors donated nearly $11,000 through donation matching with the help of an anonymous donor to purchase the supplies for the kits. Throughout the four-day Annual Meeting, attendees from around the world, INFORMS and St. Mary’s Food Bank leadership, and representatives from the INFORMS Pro Bono Analytics program volunteered their time to help with the assembly of the kits. These kits contained items ranging from beef jerky to peanut butter and trail mix.
Over 1,000 kits totaling 1,002 lbs. of food were presented to St. Mary’s Food Bank to be shared with Phoenix’s homeless men, women, and children.
Whether you donated or helped us build a kit (or both!), we are grateful for the generosity and support of those who joined us in our mission to make a difference for those who truly need a helping hand.
Special thanks to our corporate donors: MIT School of Business Analytics, Penn State University College of Engineering, The Optimization Firm, AMPL, Gurobi Optimization, Lindo Systems Inc., Simio, and Turner.