Cat Duong is a fantastic volunteer leader from H-E-B and a great partner of United Way for Greater Austin in many of our volunteer events throughout the year. We were honored to have her as a member of our Cheer Team at Ruthless Good: The Great Austin Scavenger Hunt on April 8. Not even her birthday could keep Cat from giving back and on May 5, she’ll be part of our upcoming Spring Day of Caring, sponsored in part by H-E-B. We encourage anyone interested in giving back on May 5 or 6 to join H-E-B in making this huge volunteer event a success! Cat is also an integral part of planning and running the H-E-B Feast of Sharing where around 14,000 holiday meals are served at the Palmer Events Center each November.
It is hard to keep track of all of the ways that Cat is giving back to the Austin community and we were honored that she took the time to share some insight with us about what volunteering means to her.
- Tell us a little bit about how H-E-B gives back to the community.
Where to begin? H-E-B has done so much for the community since 1905, that it’s almost hard to quantify everything. The numerous organizations that H-E-B gives back to in Central Texas is amazing. We support our communities in the following areas: education, environment, diversity, disaster relief, health & wellness, hunger relief, military appreciation and volunteerism. H-E-B gives back in so many different ways. All of our partners have a huge giving spirit and volunteer their time at countless events to ensure that our community is getting what they need. - How long have you been involved with United Way for Greater Austin?
I’ve been involved with United Way for Greater Austin since 2007 with my first event being Feast of Sharing. - Why do you believe that others should give back by volunteering?
Everyone’s time is extremely valuable. To be able to spend their quality time helping others and continue to grow that giving spirit, is priceless. - What is the craziest thing that has ever happened at a Feast of Sharing event?
A few years ago, there were some terrible rainstorms. We had to figure out how to get everyone into the building and not violate any fire codes! Volunteers were getting shuttled in and our number one priority is to make sure that everyone was safe from the weather and also got a hot meal from us! - Why do you give back to UWATX?
UWATX has done so much for the Austin area and I can’t think of a better organization to give my time to every single month! - What are other H-E-B employees saying about volunteering together?
Not only is it getting involved with the community, but it allows our partners (H-E-B employees) to truly get to know one another better and to really have a sense of fulfillment. We already do so much for our customers by providing them with healthy options in our store, this is yet another way for our partners to give back to them. We have a company full of compassionate and caring partners!