GLA Gives Back: Connect Ministries

At GLA Sales, employees and management are encouraged not only to serve customers, but also to serve their community. Owner Gerry Averrett, Managing Director Chad LaGrone, and Director of Marketing Krystal Morrell, spent the first week of August in Fort Worth learning about ways to get involved with hunger relief in East Texas.

The trio worked with Connect Ministries Ft Worth, along with First Christian Church Kilgore, on a weeklong excursion into the heart of food insecurity in the Fort Worth area. The goal: learn how these social issues are being addressed in the urban context and brain storm ideas on how to better meet these needs at home.

Through work with West Aid Food Bank and Neighborhood Needs, this crew, along with others from First Christian Church of Kilgore, sorted donations, compiled bags of food, and distributed food items to neighbors in need. A unique practice of West Aid Food Pantry is the ability of their patrons to fill out a menu of what items they need from the pantry. This practice does two things. First, it prevents waste that is sometimes created in the “one size fits all” food pantry models by allowing consumers to specify what food they actually need and want. Second, it helps maintain the dignity of the patrons. Being able to select your food feels more like a grocery store experience. It is a model that works with those in need and allows them to be active participants providing for their families. Such models have been proven to promote self-empowerment and confidence, essential components of independence and resilience.

Another powerful experience during this trip was the ability to partner with Broadway Baptist Church to serve their weekly Agape Meal. Agape, the Greek word for unconditional love, is the perfect descriptor for this meal that is open to those in the Fort Worth homeless community. Each week, volunteers prepare and cook quality meals for those who will attend. These meals are plated and served restaurant style by additional volunteers. Tables are covered in crisp black tablecloths and meals are served with reusable utensils and glassware. The goal is to simulate a restaurant experience in order to demonstrate dignity and respect to a community that is often looked down upon. Visitors were also provided with hygiene bags to take with them.

Working tirelessly to serve our customers is a high priority of GLA Sales, but so is service to our community and neighbors in need. At GLA, we are proud of our leadership and employees for not only professing these values, but also putting them into practice.