It’s a wrap! M&A employees help needy families again this year

M&A’s annual holiday tradition of helping needy families continues as the Tucson office wraps and fills food boxes again this year. Every December, employees donate non-perishable food items to fill 24 boxes for our next door neighbor, Holoway Elementary School.

Leilani Bew, hydrochemist, spearheads this worthy cause at a school where more than 50% of families qualify for food stamps. The recipients are selected by the school staff, and the boxes – which are wrapped like gifts – are delivered to the families just before Christmas break. In addition to the employee-donated food, M&A donates a ham or turkey for each family so they have a complete holiday meal. As an added bonus, Janis Blainer-Fleming, principal hydrogeologist, organizes a cookie baking effort so the families have a special homemade treat to accompany their meals.

Janis Blainer-Fleming (left) and Leilani Bew put the finishing touches on the donated food and homemade cookies for our neighbors.

Several staff members pitched in to deliver the gift-wrapped food donations. From left are Oscar Delgado, Phyllis Leach, Barbara Timmons, Ben Paras, Cynthia Stefan, Derek Groenendyk, Tracie Jaeger, Leilani Bew, Gaby Martinez, Principal of Holaway Elementary School Rowdy Frederiksen, and Jon Whittier.