Power of People

   Volunteers are a critical part of Trusted World’s process. Throughout the month of June, more than 200 people volunteered as individuals and organizations ranging from AAA to Zurn Elkay, helping an estimated 1,100 North Texans. 

   This week, we decided to look at one of the organization’s longest-serving regular volunteers. TNN’s Rosie Stoddard looks at how he got involved, what inspires him, and his impact.   

  “They needed forklift drivers, so I spent about four to five days running a forklift,” says Trusted World volunteer Andy Greenberg. In August 2017, Andy Greenberg, like thousands of North Texans, turned to Trusted World to help during the Hurricane Harvey Relief Effort. That’s when he met Trusted World founder Michael Garrett and learned they have a similar background in supply chain management. He says Michael’s ability to oversee twenty thousand volunteers over three months to sort, pack, pallet, and ship $19 million of donated resources to Houston was beyond impressive, saying, “He had a vision. He had a vision of what he wanted to do.” 

   Greenberg retired in 2018 with 30-plus years of corporate and military logistical experience. In seeing how Michael perfected his vision of addressing situational poverty, Greenberg volunteers once a week and has for the last two years. “I was amazed. He has created a warehouse using automation, using technology.”

   Greenberg believes Trusted World’s platform of providing technology and quality resources to its more than 800 North Texas partners within 48 hours and at no cost is unprecedented in the nonprofit world. 

    According to Greenberg, incidents like the Balch Springs wildfires in July of 2022 prove Trusted World’s process is efficient, effective, and impactful. “They actually delivered to the hotel for each individual person,” he says. “Nobody else has done that in a nonprofit, at least not that I have seen; in a nonprofit world, to get clothing down to an individual level. That would never have been able to be done and still can’t be done unless Trusted World does it.”

   Greenberg says Trusted World’s ability to scale for a disaster is refreshing, but its daily commitment to the community is rewarding. He says, “The ability to react quickly and get people what they need quickly is what sets Trusted World apart.” 

   Trusted World’s proprietary software and data analysis, says Greenberg, is another thing that sets it apart. The software allows partners to order size-specific clothing items, track orders, find other network partner services, and even signal low quantity alerts in the warehouse. 

“The technology that Michael has developed is the key. While it looks simple at the back end, the front end is much more complicated, but he’s cracked the code,” Greenberg says.

   Rosie Stoddard shows how he got involved saying, “Greenberg often directs volunteers and gets excited about the impact they make together. Last week, he says, volunteers sorted through thousands of pairs of shoes, and within two hours, they put 500 pairs of shoes into the resource pipeline.”

New Sponsorship Opportunities

   Trusted World is looking for sponsors to help cover the cost of new socks, undergarments, food, and personal care items. The sponsorships range from one to four thousand dollars a month. In return, you’ll receive recognition on social media, in the monthly newsletter, and right here, weekly on TNN.

   You can find all the sponsoring opportunities on the Trusted World website under the ways to give link, by clicking on sponsoring opportunities.

Make a Difference

   If you’d like to help make a difference, go to TrustedWorld.org, click on volunteer experiences, and sign up. If you’d like to explore other ways to help, you can go to the same website, and under the ways to give link, click on needs to find the items the Network most needs. For clothing donations, one of our key sponsors, the Credit Union of Texas, has donation dropoff bins in every one of their North Texas branches. Next to the bin is a banner with a QR code if you want to donate money.

    You’ll find a complete list of dropoff bin locations on the Trusted World website. 

   That’s the headlines from around the Trusted World Network, where you can join us in helping people help people.