Monthly Newsletter | January 2023
Fast Facts:

Volunteering is the perfect New Year's resolution because it benefits the community and the health and happiness of those who get involved and give back! 

Did you know that 96% of people feel a greater sense of purpose when volunteering? 

Blessings in a Backpack can help fulfill your New Year's resolution this year. Click here to learn ways to get involved with our mission, including starting a program to feed kids in your own backyard. 
Love Is a Verb:

Calling all teachers, room parents, and Troop leaders! Make your child’s Valentine’s Day party more than candy and cards and join Blessings in a Backpack to put love into action. 

We've put together several activities and FREE resources for your party: including printable note cards (pictured) and videos of Blessings supporters — including Jennifer Garner and Gorp the puppet — reading the children's storybook Maddi's Fridge.
Upcoming Events:

February 2
Houston

February 8
Jacksonville, Florida

February 20
Orlando, Florida

March 11
Louisville, Kentucky

April 1
Frederick, Maryland
Core News:

You'll read stories of charitable partners and donors who supported our crucial work during the 2021/22 school year and learn of our year-end fiscal results. We also celebrate how you helped our organization provide over 3.1 million hunger-free weekends for children nationwide.

Thank you for what you have done, and continue to do, to help us feed kids who might otherwise go hungry.
Discover employees bag weekend food for kids.
Good Apples:
Blessings SWFL Chapter Adds Four Schools to Meal Program

The chapter will now be serving 6,500 children every weekend. The expansion comes just in time as the need has grown exponentially since Hurricane Ian.

Read more
www.blessingsinabackpack.org
Nemours Children's Health Address Food Insecurity in Orlando

Ahead of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday — an official day of service — Nemours Children’s Health volunteers spent their Saturday at Boggy Creek Elementary in Orlando, Florida, bagging food for kids to take home for the weekends.

Read more
www.blessingsinabackpack.org
Notre Dame and South Carolina football players took time out of their busy TaxSlayer Gator Bowl schedules to volunteer with Blessings in a Backpack. It's the fourth consecutive year that Blessings in a Backpack has partnered with the Gator Bowl to feed kids on the weeknds in Northeast Florida. 
The Fighting Irish Fights Weekend Hunger

The Notre Dame football team filled backpacks full of ready-to-eat food for hundreds of children in Northeast Florida who might otherwise go hungry.

Read more
www.blessingsinabackpack.org
Gamecock Football Team Gives Back to First Coast Kids

The South Carolina football team scored 500 hunger-free weekends for First Coast kids. The packing event helped hundreds of local children living with food insecurity.

Read more
www.blessingsinabackpack.org
Two years since the #BillsMafia viral donation campaign

As we have witnessed in recent weeks, and in 2021 when Buffalo Bills fans rallied for Blessings in a Backpack and Ravens QB Lamar Jackson, we're all on the same team when it comes to helping others. "Life is bigger than football."

Read more
www.blessingsinabackpack.org
Feeding Hearts & Bellies This Valentine's Day

This Valentine's Day, let's feed hearts and bellies together! Thanks to our friends at Alex and Ani, individuals who donate $50 via this link will receive a free 'Because I Love You' bangle as a thank you!

Read more
www.blessingsinabackpack.org
Thank You to Our Donors:
Reflects giving from July 1, 2022 to September 30, 2022:
$100,000 and Up
$50,000 to $74,999
Champions 4 Children, Inc.
Ina Kay Foundation
Sara Lee

$25,000 to $49,999 
Bridge Fund, Inc.
Cafe of Life, Inc.
Randall Cobb
Copperhead Charities
Good News Outreach Foundation DAF-2282
Palms Presbyterian Church
Paylocity
Justin Thomas Foundation, Inc.
UPS Foundation
UPS-JAX Employees
Valspar Championships
Washington Christian Outreach
Darrel E. Wood

$15,000 to $24,999 
Alpha Gamma Delta Fraternity
Anonymous
Bellevue Heights United Methodist Church
Brinker International
KeHE Cares Foundation
Scherffius Fund
Suncoast Credit Union Foundation
Unbridled Charitable Foundation, Inc.

$10,000 to $14,999 
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield
Arizona Association of School Business Officials
Jessica Bathon Memorial Fund
Beardstown School District
Breakthru Beverages
The Patricia Crown Family
Exelixis
James Gorman
Harbor Point Church
HEICO Companies, LLC
Highland Park Christian Church
Ubong E. Ituen
Jerome & Dorothy Holz Family Foundation
Lions of Virginia Foundation, Inc.
Lockton Re, LLC
Mallinger Family Foundation
Manistee United Methodist Church
Molex, LLC
National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED)
Newman's Own Foundation
Patricia J. Parsons
Perfection Foundation Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Fdn
Sonny’s BBQ
Sysco Corporation
United Way of Lee County