Thank you, M/I Homes!

The homebuilder has provided access to nearly 234,000 meals through volunteering and donations.

For the team at M/I Homes of DFW, supporting families facing hunger is personal.

“Giving back to the local community is something that is near and dear to our team,” says Director of Marketing Courtney Weinkam. “Several members of our team have benefited from food programs throughout their lives and believe in servant leadership within the community.”

Since 2019, M/I Homes has participated in three corporate volunteer shifts at the North Texas Food Bank, packing and boxing 68,058 meals for their neighbors. The company also gave financially as part of its private volunteer experience, and through their gifts have enabled 165,900 meals.

“M/I Homes has made an incredible impact for our neighbors facing hunger,” says Elizabeth Campo, the NTFB Volunteer Specialist who helped coordinate their volunteer shifts. “The team is a delight to work with and the company has a clear commitment to its community that is inspiring to see.”

Courtney said M/I Homes of DFW first looked into donating through a private volunteer shift because they wanted a way to support the community where they operate while all giving back together. With a team of 130, the North Texas Food Bank’s Perot Family Campus in Plano was a perfect fit.

During private volunteer shifts, teams can bring 60 to 100 people for an exclusive experience that only involves their organization. They’re led by NTFB’s Volunteer Kernels, which are regular volunteers trained to lead others through a pack and box shift, and they can also bring a playlist and refreshments to personalize the shift. Shifts are secured with a $5,000 donation, which means the groups provide access to 15,000 meals in addition to the meals they pack on NTFB’s production floor.

Courtney said all of their shifts have been great experiences, and that they learned a lot about how food insecurity is impacting the counties where they work, including that 1 in 7 people and 1 in 5 children face hunger in North Texas.

“With communities across the North Texas area, M/I Homes builds single-family housing in all of the major counties served by the NTFB,” she says. “Our team benefitted from the teamwork experience and learned first-hand about the food insecure population in our metro area.”

John Stewart, VP of Finance for M/I Homes of DFW, participated in the volunteer shifts and was thrilled to hear about the direct impact they were having on neighbors. His own family benefited from food assistance programs when he was younger, and he said it was a joy to be able to give back as an adult.

“I can’t explain how awesome it is to pay it back,” he says.

Food insecurity is also not the only issue in which M/I homes invests. As a division, M/I Homes of DFW set a goal this year of raising $200,000 to support Peletonia, which is a national charity that funds treatments, therapies, prevention and research to end cancer. The company built 15 “benefit homes” that supported this goal and by November had raised $216,000.

“Our commitment to the community is something that each and every division of M/I Homes embodies,” Courtney says.