November 15, 2013

Denver’s Applewood Plumbing Supports North Denver Cares Food Pantry

The October $1,000 winner of Applewood Plumbing Heating & Electric’s Caring Community Giveaway is a nonprofit that feeds more than 400 families every week.

Since 2009, the North Denver Cares Food Pantry, based in Broomfield, Colo., provides short-term, stop-gap aid to hungry and needy families in the North Denver area.

“Applewood is proud to partner with this organization,” said John Ward, Applewood Plumbing Heating & Electric president. “The people who volunteer their time for this cause are truly inspirational. We want to do our part in supporting these kinds of community efforts.”

Bryan Decker and about 250 other volunteers sustain all of the nonprofit’s everyday operations and expenses. The North Denver Cares Food Pantry will use the $1,000 Caring Community Giveaway for Thanksgiving outreach and facility maintenance.

“We’re providing double portions with Thanksgiving fixings and $5 gift certificates for turkeys,” said Decker.

The North Denver Cares Food Pantry made helping Colorado flood victims a priority; volunteer crews spent two Saturdays cleaning out flooded homes. “Lots of people were affected by the floods and have to live in shelters. We’ve donated time and materials to 80 or so displaced families,” Decker said.

In just a few years, the efforts of volunteers have made the North Denver Cares Food Pantry a very successful operation. “Last year we donated more than 2.2 million pounds of food to around 28,000 families,” said Decker.

Over the past nine years, Applewood has given more than $95,000 in giveaways to charities and nonprofits in the Denver area.