The Undie Chest's Own Ursula Marks Honored with FedEx Founder's Fund Award
Honoring Our Board Member
Some of the most meaningful support The Undie Chest receives comes from the people who show up, again and again, because they believe in the mission. This year, that kind of dedication earned national recognition for one of our own.
Ursula Marks, Board Treasurer for The Undie Chest, has been named a 3rd place recipient of the 2026 FedEx Founder's Fund Award — the highest honor within the FedEx Cares volunteer program. The award, created in 2023 to honor FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith's legacy of service, recognizes team members worldwide who go above and beyond in giving back to their communities. As a top-three global honoree, Ursula's recognition comes with a $10,000 charitable grant awarded in her name.
A Life Built Around Service
By day, Ursula is a Senior Cyber Security Analyst and an eight-year member of the FedEx Information Security team. But her commitment to others reaches far beyond her job description. Through FedEx Cares, she has learned sign language with Feel The Beat to better connect with the deaf community, helped build homes with Habitat for Humanity, and supported athletes at the Special Olympics.
For Ursula, none of this is separate from who she is — it's simply how she moves through the world. She sees corporate volunteer programs like FedEx Cares as proof that giving back isn't an occasional gesture, but a fundamental expectation, something every employee should feel empowered to practice both individually and as part of a larger organization.
Her Connection to The Undie Chest
That same conviction is what drew Ursula to serve as Board Treasurer for The Undie Chest, an organization dedicated to restoring dignity through the donation of basic necessities. She believes that access to something as fundamental as clean, proper undergarments gives people the momentum to pursue their goals with self-respect intact — a belief that sits at the very core of why our organization exists.
Her outlook on why she serves is simple and grounded: she describes her drive to give as coming from gratitude, noting plainly that not everyone has had the same opportunities she's had.
That perspective of gratitude paired with action is exactly the spirit that keeps The Undie Chest's redistribution work moving forward.
Why This Recognition Matters
Undergarments are one of the most requested and least donated items at shelters and community closets across the country. They're not something people can easily go without, and they're not something most donation drives think to collect. Every pair distributed by The Undie Chest represents more than fabric; it's a small but tangible restoration of comfort, confidence, and basic human dignity for someone navigating a hard season.
Having a leader like Ursula on our Board is a reflection of the values that guide everything we do. Her dedication, both through FedEx Cares and through her work with our organization, is a reminder that lasting impact often starts with individuals who simply refuse to look away from need.
Join Us
Congratulations to Ursula Marks on this well-deserved honor. If her story moves you the way it moves us, consider supporting The Undie Chest's mission to provide dignity through essential undergarments to communities in need.
And if you're part of a company looking for a meaningful way to give back, we'd love to talk about what that could look like with The Undie Chest.
