Social4Good and Helping Hungry Kids Work Together to Feed NOVA Children
Article and Photos By SHARON GRACE – Social4Good
From Fortnite to Yankee Candle and Melissa and Doug toy company, many successful endeavors have started in a basement. Helping Hungry Kids (HHK) shares that same beginning.
In 2009, Connie Laurent-Roy and Sandy Amato had a vision that began in a basement in Reston, Virginia. They knew not every child in Fairfax county had enough food on weekends and during school breaks. So, they created Helping Hungry Kids of Northern Virginia, a nonprofit organization, to serve the community. Helping Hungry Kids of Northern Virginia is fiscally sponsored by and a DBA of CORE Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
Their vision has been sustainable and impactful: During the 2022-23 school year, HHK provided more than 18,000 weekend food bags for children at seven local elementary schools. Today’s rising grocery prices have created increased pressure on a family’s budget and the need for HHK’s weekend food packs has increased by 17% since the beginning of this school year.
Social4Good (S4G) recognized HHK’s important work and supported their food pack efforts in October. S4G members gathered, also in a basement, with bins of fruit cups, applesauce, pudding, cereal, soup, mac n’ cheese, milk, and more. After a spirited and efficient assembly line of bag packing, members learned more about HHK.
Due to the generosity of the Social4Good community, members created 500 weekend bags which included special Halloween treats and notes created by Emmaus United Church of Christ at their annual retreat. In addition to the bags, Social4Good donated more than 4,900 cartons of shelf stable milk and lots of extras for HHK to pack into their next round of school deliveries.
“With the increasing number of bags we provide and rising price of food, HHK’s future depends on continuing assistance from loyal supporters, like Social4Good. Thank you again, to Team October for helping coordinate this effort – we know how much time and effort goes into a huge packing event, and we are so grateful for your generosity.” Kate Brown, HHK.
S4G is an all-volunteer, grassroots organization that brings together engaged women who want to meet new people and support the organizations that make our community strong. Each month, this column will highlight S4G’s monthly project to raise awareness on critical needs in our community and local nonprofits making a difference.
To learn more about S4G or to donate to support local nonprofits, visit www.Social4Good.community.
