20 Nov GivingTuesday: How To Give Back This Season in North Florida
Traditionally, Black Friday, occurring the day after Thanksgiving, has been the grand inauguration of the holiday shopping season and a shopping extravaganza. Recognizing its immense popularity, marketing gurus introduced Cyber Monday, another day of massive online sales, and then Small Business Saturday, creating a post-Thanksgiving frenzy of deals.
Yet, amidst this shopping frenzy, people began to recognize the need for a pause from consumerism and a shift towards something a bit more meaningful.
That’s why GivingTuesday was introduced in 2012 by the United Nations Foundation. The globally acknowledged day of charitable contributions falls on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving. This year, GivingTuesday will be November 28th.
Use this day to compound your generosity with the kindness of others to make a powerful and positive impact on our community.
If you’re unsure where your contributions can make the most immediate difference, look no further than the hundreds of thousands of people in our community who do not know where their next meal is coming from.
How Can I Help Northeast Florida Residents Experiencing Food Insecurity?
Feeding Northeast Florida provides comfort for children, seniors, people with disabilities, veterans, active duty military, and other community members facing food insecurity year-round. The problem is in every neighborhood and bigger than you may think.
The number of food-insecure individuals in our area would fill the Jaguars’ stadium four times. Families count on Feeding Northeast Florida to provide 85,000 meals per day through the distribution of fresh, quality groceries received at 495 food pantries in our 12-county area.
We couldn’t do what we do without the compassion of our community. Your generosity empowers us to alleviate suffering and promote change. With GivingTuesday fast approaching, consider these opportunities to turn one day of giving into a movement with a lasting impact.
Hosting a Virtual Food Drive
Virtual food drives are a simple, effective way to raise funds that help us purchase food to support community members experiencing hunger. Virtual food drives do not require a physical location, can be promoted and shared across social media and other channels, and all donations are tax-deductible.
Any company, team, organization, or family can set up a virtual food drive by completing our registration form after reviewing our food and fund drive toolkit with all the information and promotional materials you need to get started.
Feeding Northeast Florida has relationships with food suppliers that give us the same wholesale buying power as grocery stores. This means we can make every dollar go further when acquiring food for distribution to your neighbors’ specific needs.
Donate
If you cannot set up a virtual food drive, there are still many ways for businesses and individuals to support our mission.
Make Feeding Northeast Florida a Charity of Choice For Employees
Business owners and leaders can help employees feel like they are part of something bigger by listing Feeding Northeast Florida as a charity of choice to simplify and unify the donation process. Consider ways to encourage participation and offer an employer match to support your team’s efforts to reduce food insecurity in our community.
Send us an email to get started.
Become a Monthly Donor
With a 31% increase in food-insecure individuals nationwide in 2022 compared to the previous year, this issue is steadily expanding. Our community’s needs are ongoing. You can help provide recurring access to nutritious food for local individuals and families by setting up an automated monthly donation using this form. You can choose your donation amount and get a clear breakdown of how your contribution will directly impact the lives of local children, seniors, and families.
If you’d prefer to make a one-time donation, you have that option as well.
Volunteer
Be on the front lines in the fight against hunger. Feeding Northeast Florida has ample opportunities for individuals and organizations to share their time both in our warehouse and at our partner food pantries.
Warehouse opportunities are available for individuals ages 16 and up. These volunteers maintain high-quality food standards by sorting and inspecting donated foods and packing meal kits for our neighbors in need.
If you can’t come to our warehouse, there will surely be a food pantry near you that could use your talents with setup, packing food, distributing food, and cleanup.
Visit our registration page to see how you can get involved.
Give Generously
GivingTuesday is a powerful reminder to remove ourselves from the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and reflect on simple things we can do to make a positive impact on the lives of others.
Mark your calendars for November 28th, and prepare now to show your compassion and caring for our community. Hundreds of thousands of people in our area need Feeding Northeast Florida to offer hope and assistance as they face food insecurity. Feeding Northeast Florida needs you to help us provide that hope.
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