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Building castles for a good cause at ITD headquarters

Canned beans, macaroni and cheese, and paper towels were just some of the items used by ITD employees last week to build castles for a great cause -- helping the hungry.

On June 12, Colleen Schowalter from the Idaho Foodbank visited ITD to judge the castles and left impressed with the collective creativity. The castle built by the Vehicle Services Section (pictured below) was ultimately selected as the winner. DMV Administration took second place and Motor Carrier Services came in third.

Cultural-goal discussions led a group from the DMV Administration Unit to explore ways to make a difference in the community and show support for those in need. The group, consisting of Beverlie Edwards, Tammie Jauregui, Lila Reynolds, Beth Schiller and Elise Shanks, decided to organize a food drive at ITD Headquarters in conjunction with the Idaho Foodbank.

To make the event as successful as possible, the group decided it might be interesting if the food drive centered on a castle-building contest. Staff from DMV Administration, Driver Services, Vehicles Services, Motor Carrier Services, Communications and the Division of Engineering participated in the contest, following pre-established rules. Everything used to construct a castle had to be donated and teams were encouraged to be creative.

The foodbank, a nonprofit organization, works to help fight hunger in Idaho. Recent statistics show that 15.6 percent of Idaho’s residents (1 in 6) and 21.1 percent of Idaho’s children are food insecure (90,240 children or 1 in 5). Schowalter noted that every pound of food provides 2.5 meals, and estimated that the donated food would provide approximately 1,000 meals. According to Schowalter, this was one of the biggest business contributions she had seen made to the foodbank.

Congratulations to the Vehicle Services team and thank you to all who participated!