Andrews Kurth Delivers Gifts to Houston Food Bank in Time for Thanksgiving

HOUSTON – Andrews Kurth Houston Office Managing Partner Tom Perich announced today that the firm will donate $25,000 to the Houston Food Bank (HFB). The donation is the largest made by a Houston law firm this year and also will be the largest corporate donation the HFB receives during ABC-13’s Share Your Holidays Food Drive 2007 to be held Wednesday, December 5, from 6 a.m. - 6 p.m. at the Fonde Recreation Center.

The donation is made on behalf of the firm’s clients and in recognition of the HFB’s ongoing efforts to serve those in need in Houston and the surrounding area. The office will also provide food donations collected during its two week food drive along with the financial contribution.

“We’re pleased to be able to make a donation to the Houston Food Bank for the third year in a row,” said Perich. “The Houston Food Bank serves a vital role in our community and we’re proud to be a part of it.”

Staff and attorneys competed floor by floor in the Houston office food drive. The staff and attorneys on the floor that donated the most food won the right to wear jeans for a day. Collection bins, posters and flyers were distributed across all nine levels to promote the event. In the end, the office donated a total more than 15,000 food items and more than $3,500 in monetary donations to the food bank, in addition to the Firm’s cash donation. Several floors gave in excess of 3,000 items each, with the winning floor at 801 Travis donating a grand total of 3,438 items.

Leading the 801 team were Veronica Ramirez, accounting manager, and Ana Perez, purchasing assistant.

“What I think made the difference for us was encouraging everyone and letting them know how fortunate we all are to have the basic necessities,” said Perez. “We also sent daily emails to make sure they all knew about the drive and had the chance to participate.”

In recognition of the efforts from the attorneys and staff throughout the entire office, December 5 was declared as Jeans Day for the whole Houston office.

According to data from the food bank, one in five children in Houston lives at or below the poverty level and, on any given day, 33,000 Gulf Coast residents are hungry.

 “More than 827,000 people live in poverty in the 18-county area we serve,” said Brian Greene, President and CEO of the Houston Food Bank. “Andrews Kurth’s gifts will go a long way toward alleviating hunger for many of these individuals.”

As reported on its web site, The Houston Food Bank has received a 4-Star rating from Charity Navigator, America's largest independent evaluator of charities. The agency spends just 1.3% of its revenue on administrative expenses.

About the Houston Food Bank

Leading the fight against hunger, the Houston Food Bank feeds the hungry by distributing nearly 40 million pounds of food per year through nearly 400 hunger relief programs in southeast Texas, enough to feed 80,000 people each week.  Founded in 1982, the Houston Food Bank is a private, nonprofit organization with community services that include nutrition education and job training.  The Houston Food Bank is a certified member of America’s Second Harvest – The Nation’s Food Bank Network. For more information, go to www.houstonfoodbank.org.

About Andrews Kurth

For more than a century, Andrews Kurth LLP has built its practice on the belief that “straight talk is good business.” Real answers, clear vision and mutual respect define the firm’s relationships with clients, colleagues, communities and employees. With more than 400 lawyers and offices in Austin, Beijing, Dallas, Houston, London, Los Angeles, New York, The Woodlands and Washington, DC, Andrews Kurth represents a wide array of clients in all areas of business law. For more information about Andrews Kurth, please visit andrewskurth.com.