GENYOUth’s mission has never been more important.
The coronavirus pandemic has affected American students – GENYOUth’s primary constituency – in a very specific way.
Approximately 124,000 K-12 public schools nationwide are closed as this is written. But they remain a vital source of nutrition for the 30 million students who depend on school meals for a substantial portion of their daily nutrition. During months-long closures, schools are working creatively to provide school meals and essential nutrition to children.
To support schools and districts across the nation with this critical school-feeding issue — a kind of crisis-within-a-crisis — GENYOUth established the COVID 19 Emergency School Nutrition Fund, which provides grants up to $3,000 to purchase supplies for meal distribution and delivery.
During school shutdowns, school nutrition professionals and volunteers distribute and deliver meals through alternative methods: Grab and Go, drive-through pickup, bus-stop drop-off, and via summer meal sites. And though the U.S.D.A. continues to support the meals themselves, many districts have not budgeted for expenses incurred by months-long alternative delivery. They are using GENYOUth grant funds for everything from soft-sided cooler bags and individual-serving meal containers to safety and protective gear for school-nutrition personnel and volunteers.
To raise funds around this vital need, GENYOUth kicked off a national campaign: FOR SCHOOLS’ SAKE: HELP US FEED OUR NATION’S KIDS! The national call-to-action was rolled out through social media, email outreach, national broadcast appearances by GENYOUth CEO Alexis Glick, and of course active participation on the part of GENYOUth’s Board of Directors. Initial commitments from hundreds of individuals along with top corporations and foundations include the America’s Dairy Farmers, American Beverage Association, Arby’s Foundation, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, NFL Foundation, PayPal, PepsiCo Foundation and TD Ameritrade have provided a strong financial foundation for this important program. Even the NFL’s Kyler Murray, Quarterback of the Arizona Cardinals and 2019 Rookie of the Year raised his hand and made a generous personal donation to help our cause – and challenged his teammates and league friends to help GENYOUth.
Additional support of this effort by readers of GENYOUth’s newsletter will be greatly appreciated!
- Donations can be made to GENYOUth’s COVID-19 Emergency School Nutrition fund at www.genyouthnow.org.
- Text SCHOOLS to 20222 to make a one-time $15 donation and don’t forget to confirm your donation when prompted.
- Schools can apply for grants at https://COVID-19.genyouthnow.org/.