TURBOCAM Hosts Seventh Annual End 68 House of Hunger Barbecue, Raising Over $25,000

Story by Callie Patteson

For the seventh year in a row, the TURBOCAM family came together in June for the annual barbecue fundraiser, rallying around End 68 Hours of Hunger. Thanks to the overwhelming support of the volunteers and attendees, the company raised more than $25,000 for the life-changing food charity that continues to help children in need.

On June 7th, TURBOCAM employees and their families gathered with the shared purpose to support End 68, which provides young public school students with meals they might not have at home from school during the weekends. End 68 was founded in 2011 in Dover, New Hampshire and has since touched communities across the country. Between 2022 and 2023, this incredible organization provided around 1.3 million meals to children.

The success of TURBOCAM’s popular fundraiser is largely thanks to machinist supervisor Steve Robinson, shipping and receiving supervisor Jesse Merrill, and network and systems administrator Jon Lampe. These three have made it their mission to smoke hundreds of pounds of meat for the guests attending the barbecue. The charity event requires multiple days of preparation and for the team, it is a labor of love.

“I think it’s the need for the kids. This is for grammar school kids and middle school kids and they’re in a situation where their life depends on other people’s decisions,” Robinson explains, reflecting on the importance of their work.

“They have no control over that and a basic need like trying to eat on a weekend or school vacation or during the summer, that’s a challenge. That shouldn’t be a challenge for a kid.”

YEARS-LONG SUCCESS

Inspired by the mission of End 68, Robinson quickly recognized the need for the company and employees to offer its support for these in-need children. In 2016, he and a handful of eager-to-serve colleagues launched the first barbecue fundraiser.

Originally, the enthusiastic group of volunteers began making gift bags filled with shelf stable foods for students to take during vacations. With the desire to do more, the employees expanded their efforts by launching a barbecue where they could sell tickets, collect donations and give all the profits to End 68.

Every year, the event has raised the number of tickets it sells to employees. The number has primarily been limited to the amount of food prepared and volunteer capabilities. While the event was capped at 350 tickets this year, the team looks forward to expanding the barbeque to 400 tickets in 2025.

Since the fundraiser was first started, TURBOCAM has raised over $80,000 for End 68,directly supporting the charity by helping buy food for students’ meals from Friday lunch through Monday breakfast. At this year’s event alone, the good-hearted volunteers raised an incredible $25,758 between donations, ticket sales, drink concessions and a raffle – all of which will go towards helping feed children in need.

The generosity of the volunteers was in full display this June as they smoked 240 lbs of pork butts, 200 lbs of chicken thighs, and 30 lbs of bacon to wrap the chicken thighs in. Twelve gallons of beans, several trays of coleslaw and loaves of cornbread were also prepared. The dishes are then assembled into meals and placed on trays by just over a dozen volunteers, ready for ticket holders.

With the sun shining, meals ready to go, and a chat and chill bar preparing custom mocktails, the event was a complete success. Robinson expressed his deep gratitude for the entire team, as each and every individual’s efforts made an impact.

“I’m blown away with the support and the team effort that everyone pitches in that week to make this all happen,” Robinson says. “There’s no way a single person or a small team could pull this off. It is a huge amount of horsepower that’s here that comes together to make it happen.”

The End 68 barbecue is just one of many volunteer opportunities available to TURBOCAM employees every year, who are encouraged to live out of the company’s mission of honoring God and supporting Christian service to God and people. Employees are offered volunteer paid time-off to engage with local organizations to help all in the community to flourish. In addition to End 68 Hours of Hunger, many employees have volunteered for organizations including House of Hope, a nonprofit dedicated to providing meals and support to those in difficult situations. The organization was recently named as the company’s charity of the month.

House of Hope believes that far too many people in our local communities are suffering from hunger, creating a deep need for meals and additional support. Those in need can visit the organization’s Free Community Restaurant for dinner on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. House of Hope volunteers also deliver around 3,000 meals every year to homebound folks who are unable to visit the restaurant.