SEATTLE, NOV. 2, 2012 – Representatives from Food Lifeline, a local hunger relief organization, came to the Seattle office of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP today to honor the firm for its contributions to Food Lifeline’s 2012 "Food Frenzy" event.
During the annual "Food Frenzy," which was first conceived and created by a Davis Wright Tremaine lawyer 22 years ago, local businesses compete to see who can generate the most donations of time, food, and money. This summer, almost 100 organizations participated, raising $490,000 and providing nearly 1.5 million meals for hungry children in the Seattle area.
As in the past, Davis Wright Tremaine took First Place among law firms, with attorneys and staff from the Seattle and Bellevue offices donating over $46,000. Food Lifeline’s special events manager, Rachel Quigley, and community events coordinator, Lindsay Carlisle, came to DWT’s Seattle cafeteria this morning to present the First Place certificate.
Food Frenzy was the brainchild of former DWT attorney Kathleen Anamosa, who learned at a Food Lifeline presentation that while food drives are popular during the holiday season, summertime is also a time of great need, since school meal programs are closed.
Anamosa came up with the idea to hold a contest among the city’s ever-competitive law firms. She wrote out a proposal for the event in 1990, and got it immediately approved by the firm’s managing partner. Challenge letters went out to all law firms in King County with more than 10 lawyers, and follow-up calls were made to get the firms involved.
Building on that success, the firm challenged local banks and accounting firms the following year. Eventually other service professionals got involved. The competition evolved from donations of food only, to primarily donations of funds. The event now brings in over 7 percent of Food Lifeline's fundraising budget.
DWT partner Pete Johnson is the current chair of the Food Frenzy campaign at DWT, assisted by the firm’s special projects and events coordinator, Shari Winstead.
About Davis Wright Tremaine
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP is a national law firm with approximately 500 lawyers representing clients based throughout the United States and around the world. For more information, visit www.dwt.com.