The importance of giving back to the community isn’t lost on Rusty Reid.
The chairman and CEO of Fort Worth-founded Higginbotham worked alongside company employees last week as they volunteered to assist nonprofits across Fort Worth.
Some dispersed at the Tarrant Area Food Bank, some went to Hope Farm, and others went to Elmwood Avenue where the volunteers and Trinity Habitat for Humanity built three homes.
“You can’t just be a benefactor of your community,” Reid said. “One of our values is to be generous to our communities. So, why don’t we get them to go support a number of the nonprofits that are near and dear to our community?”
The “Volunteer Extravaganza” is part of Higginbotham’s 75th Anniversary campaign. The company that specializes in insurance, financial and human resources services got its start in 1948 on Race Street in Fort Worth.
“You got to give back and so I love when we don’t just talk the talk. We’re walking the walk and I was really just beyond excited to know we had that many volunteers,” Reid said.
Safety glasses hang on a wall April 27 at Higginbotham’s Volunteer Extravaganza. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
A volunteer measures wood April 27 at Higginbotham’s Volunteer Extravaganza. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
A volunteer staples a nail into plywood April 27 at Higginbotham’s Volunteer Extravaganza. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
A worker uses a handsaw to cut wood April 27 at Higginbotham’s Volunteer Extravaganza event. The volunteers built three homes in Southeast Fort Worth. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report)
Trinity Habitat for Humanity CEO Gage Yager said their partnership with Higginbotham dates back to 1999. It’s a partnership they value deeply.
“We’re thriving. And so what we want to do is we want everybody to thrive, not just the people that are earning more money,” Yager said. “The way we go about doing that is we build excellent homes and our tactic within that is homeownership. We understand what the stability for family is – homeownership.”
Organizations participating in the Volunteer Extravaganza:
Trinity Habitat for Humanity
Tarrant Area Food Bank
Meals on Wheels
Ronald McDonald House
Hope Farm
Cook Children’s Medical Center
Fort Worth Museum of Science & History
OutTeach
American Heart Association
Cristian ArguetaSoto is the community engagement journalist at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him by email or via Twitter. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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