How Katy Industries Ex-CEO David Feldman and Family Are Giving to the Community

David Feldman had worked as CEO of Katy Industries for just over eight years. Under his tenure, the business continued to focus on its mission of manufacturing a variety of products to the greatest standards of excellence. The company, under Feldman, grew significantly and returned to profitability. He played a pivotal role in the development of a framework of goals and policies, focusing on sales, planning, human resources, finances, dispositions, acquisitions, and a range of other leadership activities.

Before serving as CEO of Katy Industries, Feldman had held senior positions at Airserve Inc, Cooper Lighting, Holcim, and General Electric. His lengthy career took him and his family to many different cities all over the country. However, for the past 14 years, they have lived in Atlanta, a place that they now truly call "home."

The Feldmans and Their Role in the Community

The Feldmans have always been dedicated to helping their community and have given back as much as they could. When still employed as CEO, Dave Feldman was limited to providing financial support and minimal volunteer hours, while his family had been doing most of the volunteer work. Today, he is also able to volunteer more of his time. When they were living in Cleveland, Ohio, his wife Karen had volunteered in a shelter for battered women. And when the family lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan, she had helped to run and manage a local community kitchen.

The Atlanta Community Food Bank

For Dave and Karen, there are always opportunities for people to make a meaningful difference, in a variety of ways. Whenever the family moved, they would set out to find which charities in their local area had the highest efficiency rating, which means most of the contributions received go directly to the service user and offered them support in some way or another. This is precisely what they did 14 years ago, when they moved to Atlanta, and how they found the Atlanta Community Food Bank.

David Feldman felt that the charity was perfect for them. David and Karen started making regular donations to the organization, and they encouraged their children, D.J. and Zack, to volunteer. The children readily accepted the task and they went to the food bank's Product Rescue Center and helped with the sorting and packing of the grocery donations. At that time, the boys were in fifth and eighth grade, and they have continued the tradition of volunteering since then.

Both the Feldman children during college, always returned to the Atlanta Community Food Bank when they are home for the holidays or their summer break. Often, they will bring friends home during those breaks and ask them to volunteer some of their time as well. The lessons learned from their parents to always give back to the community clearly live on with the two boys.

Dave Feldman and his family believe that the Atlanta Community Food Bank is the best among the various charitable organizations that exist in the city. This is because this particular charity has the ability to make a significant impact on the lives of community members who have fallen on hard times. This positive effect is also clearly visible within the community. The volunteers at the Food Bank have trained themselves to stretch every donated dollar to its very limit, and those who donate goods, money, or their time can see the positive impact of their efforts. Few other charities have that level of direct involvement, which is why it is the preferred one for the Feldmans.

The Feldman family has been supporting the Atlanta Community Food Bank since 2005. Twelve years down the line, they feel as if the volunteers at the food bank and their service users, are already part of the family. Over those years, the Food Bank has been able to create four meals for hungry children over the summer for just $1. Their efficiency rating is at 95%, which means that 95 cents out of every dollar goes directly to the service users. Unfortunately, across Georgia, 25% of children live in households with food insecurity, and one in seven people need to visit the Food Bank at least once a year, although most of them would visit up to eight times. This demonstrates the need for services like those provided by the Atlanta Community Food Bank. Every year, they have been able to collect more than 60 million pounds of donated grocery products, which they distribute across a network of over 600 different partner non-profit agencies.

Source: David Feldman

Share: