Donor Spotlight: Chris and Brandon Greenwell

December 18, 2015

By Caitlin Custer, Donor Outreach Coordinator 

We love when committed community members come to us with their stories of the unique ways they are helping to support the Food Bank’s mission. Our story today comes from Chris Greenwell who has found several ways to raise donations and support during the holiday season.

Chris is not a newcomer to the Food Bank family. He has participated in yearly food drives through his employer, Delmarva Power, as well as with his friends and family. He teamed up this year with Bankshots owners Marissa and Scott to hold a fundraiser to benefit the Food Bank of Delaware as well as a family who had fallen on hard times and needed a helping hand. Chris auctioned off football jerseys to raise money and attendees dropped off canned goods which went to the Food Bank. It was a great event, but Chris still felt he had more to give.

Chris and his 9-year-old son, Brandon, have been excited about the newest Star Wars film since it was announced. They were lucky enough to score tickets to opening night, but Chris saw this as a teachable moment and an opportunity to help a lot of others. He asked Brandon if he would be willing to donate his Star Wars tickets to charity, to auction them off and donate the proceeds to help those who were not as fortunate this holiday season. Brandon thought about it and decided that as much as he wanted to go see Star Wars, he could wait if it meant that he could help feed people in need. They listed the tickets and the auction raised over $200! In a surprising turn of events, the auction winner gave the tickets back and said to relist them to raise as much money as possible.

Chris brought Brandon in to volunteer so that he could see where the money raised from the auction was going to go. He said sending Brandon there was like “sending him to an amusement park for a day.” He loved being the only one that was able to climb into the giant bins to start an assembly line to sort out all of the donations. “He loved helping everyone as a team,” Chris explained. He left feeling that his contribution was important and really helped make a difference in his community, and seeing how the process worked from the inside was very impactful.

There was one last surprise. Because Brandon was so giving, Chris surprised him with a second set of tickets for opening night. Chris hoped to teach him that when you do good things for others it can be rewarding, and hopes that he will continue doing positive things throughout his life.

Chris and Brandon definitely have the Force with them this holiday season!

If you have a great story about how you’ve helped the Food Bank by either raising funds, food donations, or awareness, email me at ccuster@fbd.org and maybe you’ll be the next featured donor in the Donor Spotlight!