Connecting with the Communities where we work. Creating Raving Fans - And Friends.

The Employee: Mande Corbett

The Organization: Friends and Neighbors Network

Mande Corbett very much embodies the spirit of of DatamaxCares.

Through her co-founding and commitment to the group Friends and Neighbors Network (FANN) at her Little Rock area church, Corbett was nominated by the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network as one of the 2018 - 20 Over 20 Nominees in the Nonprofit Sector Award.

The Organization

Mande has served at a lot of restaurants. She’s volunteered at many food pantries. Food has always been an important part of her life.

But she’s never witnessed anything as powerful as FANN.

It starts with food, but very quickly becomes about community. This member-led, alternate food pantry that Mande and others operate provides those who join a sense of ownership over the organization. Besides paying monthly dues and receiving food, each member takes part in:

• ordering the food from their local food bank,
• picking the food up in the truck donated to the church for this ministry,
• signing members in,
• unloading, sorting, and distributing the food,
• taking care of the children present,
• cleaning and arranging the space to its pre-meeting state, and
• planning future meetings

“It’s really this neat domino effect,” Mande said. “We invite entire families. The kids play together. Parents unload the food and take it the same night. They give each other job leads, keep track of who’s in the hospital or who is having surgery. There are real relationships being built.”

Mande and her sister were inspired to start FANN after reading Robert Lupton’s “Toxic Charity,” in which he champions this idea of an alternate food pantry. The FANN orders food – a large portion being fresh produce – from Arkansas Foodbank with funding from Hillcrest Farmers Market.

The Nomination

Mande has been to YNPN functions before, but because she works in the business world at Datamax. She’s not a member because she doesn’t professionally work at a nonprofit.

“I skimmed the email (about her nomination), and thought they were asking me to join. But I was told that people that are volunteering and working in the community are being recognized by the organization. I was excited to have the opportunity to share with people the idea of FANN. It was a really great honor to be nominated,” Mande said.

The Impact

As Mande says, FANN offers a hand up, not a hand out. The members – about 40 total – all have a stake in the process. They get to play a key role in getting back on their feet.

“It’s a solution rather than a band aid,” Mande said. “We’re thinking about long term results, rather than just the status quo.”