For the past few years, we’ve nominated various charities to be our charity of the year. For 2021, we are proud to be working with Filling in the Blanks. Filling in the Blanks is a fantastic organisation based in Norwalk, Connecticut which provides food bags to thousands of children who suffer from food insecurity.  

For these children, weekends, summers and snow days are scary times as they may not know where their next meal is coming from – and the COVID pandemic has only escalated these fears. Filling in the Blanks delivers food bags to schools before the weekend as well as during summer break (including summer camps) to ensure that children have nutritious meals even when they’re not at school.

Since its founding in 2013, the organisation has gone from strength to strength, growing from a small operation in the founders’ homes to occupying a warehouse with 5000 square foot of space with volunteers who store and process the food bags that go to schools today.

We have lots of fundraising ideas for the next few months, including:

• A Virtual Food Drive.
  • This is an ongoing effort in which we can either purchase a selection of food items Filling in the Blanks needs or donate cash directly.
• A Virtual 5K – April 25^th to April 30^th.
  • Traditionally, the 5K event would have been organised so everyone ran the same route, but to be COVID-safe, this year we can run, walk, or cycle anywhere. This should be a fantastic opportunity for both our UK and US teams to take part and raise funds.
• Golf outing – May 18^th.
  • A sponsored round of golf around the prestigious GlenArbor Golf Club in New York.
• Various opportunities to volunteer.
  • We know that our team members in the US office are very keen to get hands on with Filling in the Blanks’ work and make up some food bags.
• Holiday Backpack Drive.
  • Over the holidays, Filling in the Blanks provides sturdy backpacks to every child who receives their food bags. They also fill these backpacks with holiday-appropriate food (like pancake mix), an age-appropriate book and toy, hats, gloves, socks, and a dental kit. This is another opportunity for us be directly involved by volunteering our time to help fill the backpacks.
• Kindness Note.
  • These are handwritten notes that are added to the Weekend Meals Bags – a personal note of encouragement that can make a big difference to the children receiving them.

We also have some seasonal events planned for Halloween and Christmas. Keep an eye on our social media channels for announcements regarding these.

If you want to find out more about the work of this brilliant charity, please visit their website.