NEW CUMBERLAND, Pennsylvania –
To energize its employees about the 2016 Feds Feed Families campaign and increase donations, DLA Installation Support at Susquehanna devised a challenge for the team to put its creativity- and generosity- to the test.
The brainchild of David Potter, maintenance leader, the “CANstruction” contest was launched in early August, and encouraged participants to form artwork out of donated canned goods and other food stuffs that will ultimately go to the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank.
Each participating team opted to construct art related to their field of expertise and tailored donated items to fit within that theme.
In the case of the American flag, created by Security and Emergency Services, only Campbell's soup with its red and white label would work to complete the motif; 210 cans of it, to be exact.
A working HVAC unit was created by the employees in the HVAC shop, and a computer created by the supply team depicted their day-to-day ordering operations.
Plumbers constructed a commode which did not flush but had a working lid, and maintenance workers constructed a replica DeWalt drill with a working drill bit made out of Pringles cans.
The winning design, chosen by a panel of judges, was the Maintenance Shop’s DeWalt drill. Together, teammates Michael Henry, Gregory Rada, Stan Hemler, Edward Kleckner, Bradley Blaisdell, Joseph Kreider, Robert Eldridge and Stephen Alleman donated nearly 200 food items through the creation of their functional art.
In total, over 900 items were donated as a result of the challenge, all of which will be given to the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank.
The Feds Feed Families campaign, which kicked off in June, runs through August 31. The goal is to replenish area food banks whose stocks are normally depleted this time of year. Collection barrels are still available throughout the installation and employees are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items and place them in the barrels.