Raymond Cockrell (Football, 1978-80) has found his true life’s calling – helping improve his community through service to others. After years of working in various industries, the former Killeen High School football and track standout has returned to his hometown to help bring aid to hungry families and individuals. Cockrell currently serves as the Executive Director of the Killeen Food Care Center, a faith-based, non-profit organization that provides food to people in the community who are in need. The Food Care Center was founded in 1987 by a collaborative effort between 1st Baptist Church and St. Joseph Catholic Church in Killeen. The organization’s mission is “standing in the gap created by hunger.”
So far in 2018, Cockrell has led his team of employees and volunteers at the center to distribute over 2,000,000 pounds of food to more than 67,250 citizens in Central Texas. Of that number, 13,870 have been children and 13,509 have been seniors. Additionally, 20-50% of the center’s clients are military-related – either active duty, retired, or veterans. The center’s services also extend to families who were victims of hurricanes and other natural disasters as well as those living in local shelters. Later this year, the center plans to provide over 1,600 Thanksgiving and Christmas food baskets to military and civilian families.
To carry out this volume of service, Cockrell and the center depend on donations from both individuals and churches. Another crucial component of the center’s ability to fulfill its mission is to have food. Most of the food distributed to needy families is salvaged food from local H-E-Bs and Walmarts, while a smaller portion – about 20 percent – comes from the Central Texas Food Bank in Austin. “Without the food we receive from these valuable partners, our services to the community would be greatly diminished,” Cockrell said. “I am thankful to our partners, staff, and volunteers for making a difference in our community. Through this work, I hope to earn the respect of my community and help to make it better for the future.”
For more information about the Killeen Food Care Center, go to www.facebook.com/foodcarecenterkilleen.
To return to the home page, click here.
I appreciate the Raymond Cockrell’s dedication to serving his community and the Killeen Food Care Center is truly inspiring. It is worth huge efforts to distribute over 2,000,000 pounds of food to more than 67,250 citizens in Central Texas this year alone, including many children, seniors, and military families. It’s impressive how the center collaborates with local partners like H-E-B, Walmart, and the Central Texas Food Bank to provide such essential services. I am interested in support of the community service initiatives, but I need someone to help with my college tasks. Therefore, I usually turn to professional experts, just see the article https://edubirdie.org/edubirdie-review-the-most-honest-and-reliable/ that tells about EduBirdie which is the most honest and reliable. In future with its help, I will have more time to contribute to community. For more details about the Killeen Food Care Center, I visited their Facebook page.