Creating a strong foundation for action and future success:
The importance of leadership and partners with a wide community network
by Zane Peng
Sun City Hunger Relief Coalition, based in El Paso, TX, has been making great progress since its inception in January of 2020. Some of its ongoing projects include standardizing food insecurity statistics for El Paso and creating a community calendar to assist residents in easily accessing the schedule of food service sites. The coalition also focused on developing a clearly defined leadership system, resulting in a board of directors responsible for directing the multiple action teams and a coalition coordinator dedicated to improving the coalition’s community presence and recruiting new members.
The leadership of the Sun City Hunger Relief Coalition attributes its early success to the persistent effort and dedication of its core members. The coalition held multiple meetings to develop the leadership and action teams’ structures. Initially, nine action teams were established based on abstract ideas. In evaluating the productivity of these action teams and in consultation with the El Paso County office working on a food insecurity plan, the leadership team was able to collectively develop a vision for the coalition, initiate targeted action-oriented projects, and refocus the action teams.
Leaning into the strengths of collaboration, the Sun City Hunger Relief Coalition is grateful for the varying contributions that members bring to the table. One such example is that of the Kelly Center for Hunger Relief, the largest food pantry in El Paso. Utilizing their connections in the community, the Kelly Center for Hunger Relief engaged the Paso del Norte Health Foundation, helping to successfully secure funding for the coalition to hire a coalition coordinator in 2020. To date, the coalition coordinator has made great strides in improving the coalition’s visibility in the community.
To learn more, contact Ms. Monica Chavez at Monicachavez@live.com
Visit their website: www.suncityhrc.org or follow on Facebook
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