Employees at BigSpeak Speakers Bureau donated their services to help the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County harvest mandarins to be distributed to those in need. Over 34,000 pounds of mandarins were harvested this season for the local community through the Backyard Bounty program.

Backyard Bounty is a volunteer gleaning service created to use leftover harvest from local orchards and trees to contribute to the Foodbank’s resources and feed those in need.

Since its founding in 2007, the program has harvested in excess of 1.2 million pounds of fresh fruit from homes, gardens and orchards all over the county. The program services all types of trees from mandarins, lemons, limes and tangerines to avocados, persimmons, guavas and figs.

This harvest season, a team of volunteers from BigSpeak came together to help glean founder of Curvature Chuck Scheldon’s mandarin orchids. The team collected a total of 764 pounds that will be distributed to schools and food banks, as well as be used for resources in other nonprofit sectors.

Other companies who support the Foodbank of Santa Barbara through gleaning, donations and sponsorship are Citrix, CIO Solutions, Deckers Brands, Montecito Trust and Bank, Anacapa Equipment Brokers, and Santa Barbara Vintners’ Association.

As a part of its core values, BigSpeak believes in growth and collaboration, either within the company or alongside the local community. BigSpeak workers are urged to make a difference outside the office with paid volunteer days and flexible work hours to allow for community stewardship.

Those interested in getting involved in gleaning can donate the produce you pick from your trees, coordinate a harvest where volunteers will pick the fruit (minimum five trees required), or volunteer time and labor by joining a team to harvest other’s fruit.

BigSpeak is a full-service speakers bureau based in Santa Barbara. The company serves 68 percent of the global Fortune 1000. BigSpeak’s keynote speakers range from business speakers to world-class athletes, best-selling authors, award-winning entertainers, and global icons.

— Jessica Welch for BigSpeak.