Taylor ISD interns give back to their hometown

Being part of Samsung Austin Semiconductor means being a part of a bigger community. Every internship with our company includes an opportunity to chip in and volunteer. Taylor High School student Kenneth Calvo, who is interning with our Government Affairs and Communications Community Affairs teams, helped organize a volunteer day for our Taylor ISD interns with Shepherd's Heart in Taylor. The students helped in the food pantry as well as the non-profit's thrift store. In the food pantry, they spent the morning preparing the food for distribution, which included bagging meat, dairy, ready meals, produce and canned goods.

Once the drive-thru distribution started in the afternoon, the students helped keep the assembly line running and loaded food into the vehicles. Before the 12:30 p.m. distribution time, there was already a line of vehicles down the street and wrapped around the block along Porter Street. "The experience was a gift to the community and to the interns," intern Savannah Coy said. "Along with expanding our professional knowledge and skillset, Samsung Austin Semiconductor gave us the opportunity to give back to our community." Shepherd's Heart executive director and co-founder Loretta Masters says they usually help around 100 families on any given distribution day. In 2021, the food pantry distributed 792,000 pounds of food, but the help doesn't stop there. "While many families come for food assistance, they're also coming for family emergency assistance and we're able to help them with utilities, rent and water," Masters said. Masters, who has been with the organization since 1990, is currently working on expanding the warehouse space that will include a break room space for volunteers. The organization is always looking for volunteers to help with the food pantry and thrift store. Click here to see how you can help.