During any given week across the state of Ohio, 230,000 people receive emergency food assistance, 35 percent of whom are children younger than 18. And 50 percent of Ohioans are left to choose between paying their heating bill and putting food on the table.

The employees of Rea & Associates, a regional CPA and business consulting firm, are not content to stand idly by while members of their communities suffer. To continue the firm’s efforts to make a difference in their communities, employees coordinated the 14th annual Help Can Hunger food drive among its 13 offices. This year, the Cambridge team collected 3,276 pounds of food, which was donated to the Guernsey County Senior Citizens Center in Cambridge. For their efforts, they were awarded first place in the firm-wide competition, which secured an additional $500 donation from The Rea Foundation to be given to their chosen nonprofits.

"The Help Can Hunger food drive is one of our firm’s most anticipated events every year at Rea," said Don McIntosh, CPA, Rea’s CEO. "Our people always step up to make a difference in their communities because they genuinely want to give back to their communities."

The Help Can Hunger campaign takes the form of a friendly competition among Rea’s 13 offices. Employees are encouraged to donate food, money and time to the cause. Every dollar raised counts as two pounds of food. Firm-wide, the Rea team donated 36,525 pounds of food during this year’s event, which is 7,350 pounds more than last year. Over the course of the food drive’s 14-year history, more than 291,000 pounds of food have been collected and donated to local not-for-profit organizations throughout Ohio. Those organizations go on to disperse the resources to individuals and families in need of assistance.