Hearts United Community Day: Food For The Poor Brings Volunteers Together to Pack Disaster Relief Kits
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (April 11, 2022) Food For The Poor is launching a new volunteer program in conjunction with National Volunteer Week and just in time for the charity’s first community-wide packing event on Saturday, April 30.
Hearts United Community Day will bring together volunteers from churches, businesses and schools to pack hygiene items into disaster relief kits and sort donations.
Each year, the charity prepositions relief kits to help countries and in-country partners rapidly respond to disasters such as hurricanes or earthquakes. This year, kits will be sent to Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, St. Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as kept on hand if a disaster hits the United States.
The packing sessions will be from 9 to 10:30 a.m., 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1 to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 30, at the charity’s warehouse, 6401 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek. Volunteers in the warehouse must be 18, but there are other ways for younger family members to help, either by hosting a collection drive or dropping off goods on the day of the event.
“Hearts United will bring the community together to make a difference in the lives of those we serve at a critical time after a disaster,” FFTP President/CEO Ed Raine said. “People are always looking for meaningful ways they can get involved with Food For The Poor and this is a wonderful opportunity to do so on a large scale, working alongside their friends, neighbors and co-workers.”
National Volunteer Week is April 17-23. Now organized by the nonprofit Points of Light, it was established in 1974 and features thousands of volunteer projects and special events.
For FFTP’s Hearts United Community Day, groups also are encouraged to host their own collection drives and drop off their items on April 30. Items needed include baby diapers, baby wipes, feminine hygiene pads, paper towels, toilet paper and trash bags.
Cash donations also are needed to furnish the items for the kits. To donate, text Hearts1 to 51555, or go visit the Hearts United Community Day event page on our website.
Throughout the year, FFTP hosts groups for small packing events or has assisted with events off-site such as with Calvary Chapel of Fort Lauderdale and Parkridge Church in Coral Springs and those opportunities will be increasing as the charity looks to engage with volunteers who prefer a hands-on way of giving back.
“We’re excited to expand our volunteer program and share what we do at Food For The Poor and raise awareness about who we help and how we serve,” said Pennie Stagnitta, FFTP’s Volunteer Coordinator.
To Learn more about FFTP’s volunteer program:
https://youtu.be/dqKrg2bYK2U
For more information about Hearts United Community Day, visit the Hearts United Community Day event page on our website.
Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the nation, does much more than feed millions of hungry children and families living in poverty primarily in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicine, educational materials, homes, support for vulnerable children, care for the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.
Michael Turnbell
Communications Associate
954-471-0928 – mobile
[email protected]