Donations benefit Kid’s Cafe and Totes of Hope-Children programs
The 8th Annual Pack for Impact event, hosted by Experient, a Maritz Global Events Company, raised $5,000 in donations for Food Bank of the Rockies on July 27. Two large teams worked together to pack up food for Denver-area children, providing 20,000 healthy meals for the Kid’s Cafe and Totes of Hope-Children.
The Kid’s Cafe is FBR’s meal program designed specifically to provide hot, nutritious meals for children at risk of hunger. Both after school and during the summer, free hot meals or shelf-stable packaged meals are distributed from FBR’s warehouse and provided to children in Denver and surrounding areas. Kid’s Cafe was able to serve nearly 600,000 nutritious meals in the food bank’s service area during the 2016 fiscal period.
Created in 2006, Totes of Hope-Children provides children with nutritious, kid-friendly food to sustain them over the weekend when school is not in session. For many of these children, the totes are their main source of food on Saturday and Sunday. In the 2016 fiscal year, 228,000 totes were distributed.
“For our sponsors and long-time individual participants, this is a great way to form a connection to the community and help put an end to hunger amongst our children,” said Gary Schirmacher, CMP, senior vice president, Industry Presence & Strategic Development for Experient. “When volunteers come to the food bank, they see the impact of the work they’re doing. Each of them will leave knowing they’ve done a tremendous act of kindness for their community. I want to sincerely thank all of our sponsors and those who attended in person for their donations.”
Through Pack for Impact, Experient uses sponsorship dollars to purchase food, while volunteers pack bags donated by meeting planning and supplier partners from conventions that gave a portion of their extra conference bags and backpacks. This year, groups packed several hundred bags, providing a great help for that week’s distribution. Using recycled convention bags also gives the kids a nice bag they can use for the upcoming school year.
Including this year’s donation, Experient has helped raise more than $126,000 for the Kid’s Cafe and Totes of Hope-Children programs through various events since 1999.
“We are grateful for the efforts of all the participants, sponsors and Experient for another successful Pack for Impact event,” said Kevin Seggelke, President & CEO of Food Bank of the Rockies. “Each one of them has helped us make a difference in the lives of hundreds of children throughout the Denver Metro area.”
To see a full list of sponsor companies, including Visit Denver, the founding sponsor, please visit www.experient-inc.com/news1/archives/2016/Pack_Impact16.html. To participate as a sponsor in next year’s event or to donate leftover conference bags, please contact Gary Schirmacher at (303) 665-2878 or gary.schirmacher@experient-inc.com.
For more information on the Kids Cafe and Totes of Hope program, visit http://www.foodbankrockies.org/programs/programs-for-children/.
