Andrea Stephens and her husband, Dan, moved to Saddlebrooke in 2005 from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Before retiring, she traveled to the far east and throughout the United States as a buyer of cosmetics and household goods for a chain of department stores.
Soon after moving to SaddleBrooke, Andrea and Dan started volunteering for the SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) Food Drive. She has co-chaired this event since 2018. Perhaps the biggest challenge she faced was in 2020 when the COVID pandemic shut-down occurred 10 days before the start of the annual food drive and volunteers could no longer collect and deliver food donations in person. Andrea and the SBCO board not only were able to rapidly switch to collecting cash, instead of food donations, but had their best fundraising year ever… collecting over $91,000! Food drive revenues more than doubled the second year of the pandemic when $226,000 was collected.
As a receptionist for SBCO, she serves as a knowledgeable and passionate ambassador for both the SBCO Food Drive and Kids’ Closet, the children’s clothing bank. “When the copper mines shut down in the ‘Copper Corridor’ (between Oracle and Mammoth), most of the jobs disappeared and businesses shut down, leading to a great deal of poverty. There are no full-service grocery stores in this area, requiring families to travel long distances to shop or to subsist on the limited and often unhealthy offerings of mini-marts and dollar stores.” Andrea appreciates volunteering for SBCO as a chance to make a difference in the lives of the children and families in this area, as well as the fun of working with some great volunteers.
Andrea also likes the flexibility of being an office volunteer for SBCO. “You can work just a few hours a month or more if you like. Volunteers sign up for shifts on a monthly basis but the office manager can always find a substitute if you have a last-minute conflict or decide to go out of town.”
A new Trader Joe's to open in midtown Tucson
