Our parent company, the E.W. Scripps Co. is committed to helping the Coastal Bend rebound from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In April, the charitable arm of our company, The Scripps Howard Foundation, donated $5,000 to the Coastal Bend Food Bank. That money provided 30,000 meals to families in need in an 11-county region, and we wanted to do it again.
But this time, The Scripps Howard Foundation pledged $12,000 to the Coastal Bend Food Bank.
We thought about it, and wondered if we could find a generous partner to match it to help even more Coastal Bend residents.
Herrman & Herrman immediately said it would.
"Thirty-five million stimulus checks still haven't been mailed out, so what are people supposed to do for food?” said Herrman & Herrman Managing Partner Greg Hermann. “So we thought -- this is the perfect thing to do to help people out."
When COVID-19 hit the Coastal Bend, Herrman & Herrman Law Group distributed thousands of masks right here at home, and even in other communities.
"We went to the (Rio Grande) Valley, and San Antonio, and same thing -- everyone was so grateful and said ‘Thank you’ and ‘Bless you,’ so it makes you feel good when people are that appreciative," he said.
So with checks-in-hand from both Herrman & Herrman, and The Scripps Howard Foundation, we took a total of $24,000 to the Coastal Bend Food Bank.
But that’s not where this story ends.
KRIS 6 News asked Coastal Bend Food Bank Executive Director Bea Hanson if she thought any of their generous donors would want to join in the giving, and sure enough, philanthropist Gene Bouligni jumped at the chance to help.
"He said, ‘I tell you what -- I’ll give you the $12,000, but I want you to match my $12,000, too, and he gave me 60 days to do that,” Hanson said. “And by the next morning, Conoco(Phillips) called and matched the rest of the money. So within 24 hours, we had $48,000! Isn't that wonderful? That is a miracle."
What started with a donation from our company for $12,000 will now turn into 144,000 meals for Coastal Bend families who need help, now more than ever.
If you'd like to help the food bank, you can donate -- of course -- but if you can volunteer, they would love that as well.
If you need help from the food bank, you can call them at (361) 887-6291 or reach out at https://coastalbendfoodbank.org