Dale Schutt, account manager for American Builders Quarterly, organized our fall food drive.

September was Hunger Action Month, a nationwide campaign mobilizing the public to take action on the issue of hunger, and at Guerrero Howe, we decided to be proactive with a company-wide food drive.

Setting a personal record, this year we collected 28 boxes of food (more than 700 lbs) to benefit the Greater Chicago Food Depository (GCFD). Contrary to our previous assumptions about the GCFD, the time of year when food is most needed is not during the holiday months of November and December, but rather October. “The timing and the new information just made perfect sense to the employees of Guerrero Howe, and we were happy to do anything we could in order to make sure the GCFD had more food for their month of biggest need,” said Dale Schutt, American Builders Quarterly account manager and organizer of the food drive.

Dale also coordinated with executive assistant Cassie Rose to create a “Guess That Baby” contest to accompany the drive. Staff baby photos were compiled on a bulletin board to remind us all who some of the youngest victims of hunger are in our city. Employees who donated to the drive were able to submit their guess as to whose baby picture was whose.

“The association got people thinking, the contest got people participating for a great cause, but my favorite thing about the whole competition was the camaraderie created at the board,” said Dale. “While people were standing up there discussing who they thought was who, people who aren’t on the same teams, in the same positions, or even in the same departments started talking in a way that was zero-pressure and a lot of fun.”