The recipient of the Wilkinson Center’s 2021 Can Do! Award has been announced and it’s a timely one. 2021 Can Do Luncheon Chair Jan Worrall has just revealed that the award will be presented to Get Shift Done. If Get Shift Done is new on your North Texas nonprofit list, it was birthed as a result of the past year’s pandemic.
Founded by Patrick Brandt and Anurag Jain, Get Shift Done proved the entrepreneurial spirit can still emerge during the worst of times. It was back in the early days of the pandemic that Patrick and Anurag came up with the “innovative idea to hire out-of-work restaurant employees to provide manpower to non-profit agencies that had lost staff and volunteers due to COVID-19.”
According to Wilkinson Center Executive Director Anne Reeder, “Through the efforts of these workers, Wilkinson Center Food Pantry has been able to serve over 2,200 individuals per month during the pandemic. Their support helped not only our organization and the clients we serve, but many others through the community. We are so honored to recognize Get Shift Done with our annual Can Do! Award sponsored by longtime supporters Ashlee and Chris Kleinert.”
Past Can Do! awardees have included Carolyn and David Miller, Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas, Bishop Lynch High School, Kathy and Larry Helm, Junior League of Dallas, Jesuit College Preparatory School, Dr. Joyce Pickering, ORIX Foundation, Kaden Newton, Ashlee and Chris Kleinert, The Real Estate Council, Regina Montoya, North Texas Food Bank, Carlin Morris, Communities Foundation of Texas, Anne and Terry Conner, The Women of Saint Michael, John and Ellen McStay and Highland Park United Methodist Church.
While the award presentation at the virtual luncheon on Friday, April 9, will be the main course of the day’s program, Jan has come up with some delicious side dishes during the hour including bigger-than-life personalities like emcee/sports writer Tim Cowlishaw, pop-up appearances by former WFAA-TV sportscaster Dale Hansen and the Dallas Stars’ Marty Turco, plus a cooking demonstration by chef kingpin Kent Rathbun.
And speaking of Kent, he will have lunch delivered the day of the fundraiser for tickets/sponsorships starting at $1,000. But if you’re on some kind of fasting program, individual supporting tickets sans Kent’s lunch start at $250.
* Photo courtesy of Get Shift Done
Anne Reeder says
Jeanne,
Thank you for this fantastic coverage of our virtual event. Hope to see you in person sometime before too long.
X0,
Anne