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#CreightonCares helps local community through donations of cash and food

By Staff | May 15, 2020

PHOTO PROVIDED Dan Creighton helps hands out 150 meals and $25,000 to the Dunbar community.

Shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic began, a local business began delivering acts of kindness for the community, ranging from helping frontline medical workers to families.

Creighton Construction & Development founder Dan Creighton said it all began when he received a phone call from Ruth’s Chris Steak House stating it had fresh food it did not want to go to waste.

Creighton agreed to purchase the food, due to it being a win-win situation for both the business and the community. Ruth’s Chris Steak House was able to pay staff and bills, and the Dunbar community received food. He said he wanted to help the Dunbar area due to many service people living in the community who live from pay check to pay check.

“I said yeah, absolutely,” Creighton said of purchasing the food. “I said why don’t I buy all that food and I’ll donate it down to the Dunbar area. I didn’t want to just bring down meals, so I withdrew $25,000 from the bank and put $250 in 100 envelopes, so I could easily hand out money.”

Before Creighton went to Dunbar, individuals were prequalified. He said Ruth’s Chris Steak House cooked the meals and passed out the food, while Creighton and his team passed out cash to the families.

This act of kindness trickled down to Creighton’s team, as they shared they could not believe how generous he was. He told his team to go out and be there for the community, while touching people in need.

“That’s how the forest fire started,” Creighton said, adding that the acts of kindness have spread throughout the country. “It’s an amazing example of kindness. I’m honored and blessed to be a part of the kindness.”

The Creighton Construction & Develop-ment team has completed a dozen #CreightonCares projects in places like Cape Coral, North Fort Myers, North Port, Miami, at the Broward Health Imperial Point Medical Center, Broward County, Space Coast, Texas and Colorado, with more under way. The projects in Cape Coral include:

n Director of Construction Forest Headley and his team partnered with House of Omelets in Cape Coral to provide a free breakfast for 225 people in need through United Way of Lee, Hendry, Glades and Okeechobee Counties.

n Comptroller Heather Kiesel delivered 40 meals from Iragazzi Pizza to the Cape Coral Police Department for the night shift crew.

n Development Coordinator Matthew Ross surprised the staff of a Cape Coral restaurant with a Publix Super Markets gift card.

“Many team members that make up our company have taken it on their own to go out there and do this #CreightonCares. It’s been amazing,” he said.

Volunteer Center Director for United Way of Lee, Hendry, Glades and Okee-chobee Counties Patrice Cunningham said they helped in facilitating the meals at House of Omelets.

“Our Volunteer Center facilitates Days of Caring,” she said, which matches businesses and volunteers with local agencies. “Creighton said we want to do this great breakfast and we will be in the Cape, can you help us get the word out?”

Cunningham said the Volunteer Center facilitated the connections by talking with the food pantries, including the Cape Coral Caring Center, the Lee County School District, the charter school system, as well as local churches and the VITA program. Information was also shared when individuals called United Way 211 that a free hot breakfast of eggs and sausage, as well and juice and water were being provided.

“It was a great hot meal on a Sunday when the food pantries weren’t open and the schools weren’t open,” Cunningham said. “House of Omelets is a great community partner. They hire a lot of students. To get the word out and get 225 people out on a Sunday morning was awesome. We were excited to be able to share that.”

Creighton said although he has been giving to organizations for so long, this time he wanted to help people directly who were in need, by transferring money and food from their hands to the individual’s hand.