Kids Can will team up with Feeding South Florida to fill backpacks with healthy meals for children on free or reduced lunch.
South Florida complete “backpacks” for over 4,000 students in the quad county area each month until the end of 2015. Appropriately “coined” the “Just a Quarter” campaign, the Kids Can kids will spread the word that just a quarter is enough money to provide a hungry child with a nutritious breakfast.
“The Just a Quarter campaign will help Kids Can make sure that kids in our community get a healthy start to their day,” said Logan Bratter, President and Founder of Kids Can. “All you have to do is collect quarters from around your house, your car or your office and with each quarter, Kids Can will buy a kid in need a healthy breakfast!”
The Kids Can Foundation has been working hard to supply Feeding South Florida with enough volunteers to pack weekend meals for kids in school.
“For almost a year, we have been volunteering at Feeding South Florida. Feeding South Florida was the first organization to allow Kids Can to open up volunteer opportunities to hundreds of families, including young children, in our community,” said Rebecca Bratter, Logan’s mom and a Shareholder at Greenspoon Marder.
Kids Can and Greenspoon Marder have provided hundreds of volunteers to Feeding South Florida since the Fall of 2014. Feeding South Florida identifies Title I Elementary Schools and/or after school programs that have at least 90% of their enrollment on federal nutrition assistance programs, household incomes that fall at or below poverty lines and are in underserved areas and provides them with packs of food for children to take home on the weekend. Each backpack includes two breakfasts, two snacks, two lunches and two dinners. All food is shelf-stable, kid-friendly, part of a well-balanced diet and fits perfectly into the child’s backpack. There are currently 15 sites enrolled in the backpack program, feeding approximately 1,800 children each week.
In order to reach their goal, Kids Can must raise nearly $2,000 per month or 7,000 quarters, but these kids aren’t afraid of the challenge, because “breakfast gives you the nutrition you need to have a great day, it’s the most important meal of the day,” said Meagan and Madison Jacobowitz members of the board of directors for Kids Can. Indeed, according to board members Ilan and Rebecca Goldmann, “these kids need breakfast because otherwise they will be hungry” plus, added Blake and Allye Backman, “a quarter is really not a lot of money.” And Miles Mittentag knows that with a lot of hard work the Kids Can kids will make this dream a reality!
“Feeding South Florida has been so fortunate to partner with Kids Can. That Kids Can is run by a Board of directors made up of kids who just want to help other kids, shows us that everyone can get involved in solving hunger” said Paco Velez, President and CEO of Feeding South Florida. “We are so excited to be launching the Just a Quarter campaign with Kids Can and equally as proud to be working with the future leaders of our community.”
To find out more about how you can get involved with the Campaign, contact Rebecca Bratter.
About Kids Can
Kids Can is based on the concept of kids helping kids. Our mission is to unlock the potential in our children by empowering them with the opportunity to give back to the community and enrich the lives of children who may be less fortunate. Kids Can seeks out volunteer opportunities for children from 2-22 and for adults of all ages. Kids Can also participates in fundraisers to raise money to help “kids to do the things we can do”.
About Feeding South Florida
Feeding South Florida Feeding South Florida (FSF) is one of 202 food banks comprising the Feeding America network nationwide. We are the leading domestic hunger relief organization in South Florida, serving Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe Counties through a network of nonprofit partner agencies, including soup kitchens, food pantries, homeless shelters, group homes, and other emergency food service programs.
For more information, visit www.feedingsouthflorida.org