As we head into one of the biggest holidays of the year, millions of children continue to go hungry on the weekends. One in every six children struggles with food insecurities, according to Kitchen on the Street.
That’s why Nextiva Cares decided to host a food drive to benefit the local nonprofit organization, which works to provide food to kids in need.
About the Local Food Drive
From October 22, 2018, to November 16, 2018, Nextiva collected non-perishable food. Four teams from the company worked together to bring in shelf-stable items for this food drive. The teams also competed to win a free lunch from a local non-profit. This non-profit uses social enterprise for job training and community help. There were collection boxes throughout the office for teams to drop off donations. Most teams had more donations than they anticipated!
One group even used a shelving unit to house their contributions. Other teams stack their goods in pyramids and different creative shapes to show off all they had collected.
Nextiva’s Giving Thanks and Giving Back Day
At our Scottsdale office on November 16th, we celebrated our final push for the drive with a Giving Thanks and Giving Back Day. Teams brought in their last cans while also filling out thank you cards for their peers and enjoying a season treat of a pie.
The teams collected 1,929 items and over 2,200 pounds of food during the four-week drive. One group also received monetary donations to give to the organization as well. Then on November 20, 2018, a crew of team members loaded three cars to the brim and drove the donation over to Foothills Elementary School. The school houses a family food pantry serving the Paradise Valley School District.
Related: Read about Nextiva’s recent children’s book drive
About Kitchen on the Street
Kitchen on the Street partners with the food pantries to stock them with necessities for families in need. They also create food backpacks for children who would otherwise go hungry on the weekends. Founded in 2007 by the Scarpinato family, this non-profit focuses on making sure children have access to guaranteed meals.
The organization has gone from a single program with food backpacks to helping stock local food pantries. Their mission is “Turning hunger into hope. . . . one child at a time.” Nextiva jumped at the opportunity to turn that hunger into hope with this Nextiva Cares initiative. We enjoyed partnering with Kitchen on the Street and supporting the excellent work they’re doing.
Heather DeRoon, Inside Sales Manager and Queen of the Bullpen, was thrilled that her team joined in. “It was so much fun watching how our sales team turn giving into a competition. Everyone had such a good time trying to “out give” each other. The competition was fierce; the crowds went wild and, in the end, we helped as many families as we could. Nextiva truly cares!”
To find out more about the work that Kitchen on the Street does check them out here: https://www.kitchenonthestreet.org.
