Inter-Faith Food Shuttle’s community partners play a major role in efforts to feed, teach, grow, and cultivate an end to hunger. This February, we want to take the opportunity to share a little love for some of our civic partners and their outstanding support. The Junior League of Raleigh, Creekside Cares, and the Elks Lodge of Raleigh all contribute in different ways to the Food Shuttle’s work of serving our neighbors facing hunger, but each makes a world of difference in the lives that they impact with their gifts of time, talent, and treasure.
The Junior League of Raleigh is an organization of women whose trained volunteers support many nonprofits around the community. Their support for the Food Shuttle goes back over 20 years, and they’ve supported the BackPack Buddies program from the start. In the early days, Junior League volunteers packed and delivered BackPacks to distribute to school children, ensuring that they had nutritious meals for weekends and holidays. Today, the Junior League fully funds the program at five area elementary schools.
“BackPack Buddies supports the mission of the Junior League of Raleigh’s Healthy Kids, Healthy Community team to improve the physical, mental, and emotional health of young Wake County residents by providing weekend meals for food-insecure students. Food insecurity has become even more prevalent in the wake of the pandemic; the Junior League of Raleigh works to help students in our community succeed - healthy body, healthy mind!" said Stephanie Ellison, Co-Chair of the BackPack Buddies Community Council of the Junior League of Raleigh.
The 55+ community of Creekside Cares is a service club of residents of Creekside at Bethpage in Durham. They’ve supported the Food Shuttle in a variety of ways since 2020 – providing the space to host food drives and fundraisers, and volunteering at the Child Food Hub every Wednesday.
Creekside Cares check presentation to Gardens For Everyone
“As most of us are retired, the Food Shuttle is perfect for us as it's only a 2-hour commitment, is fun and rewarding knowing we've helped feed hundreds of those in need over the past few years. In one of our weekly sessions, we packed 360 boxes representing 2,880 meals,” Paul Leifer, a member of Creekside Cares, said.
Creekside Cares also donates funds throughout the year, and in June of 2021, they raised funds to purchase tools and materials for the Food Shuttle’s Gardens For Everyone program.
The Raleigh Elks Lodge is part of the Fraternal Order of Elks, a charitable foundation founded “to promote and practice the four cardinal virtues of Charity, Justice, Brotherly Love and Fidelity”. The Raleigh Elks have been a Food Shuttle supporter since 2020, and they volunteer at the Child Food Hub every month. They also provide financial support for the BackPack Buddies program.
“I first started hearing about Backpack Buddies back around 2018, and how many children, who qualify for free breakfast and lunch at school, didn't have food to eat over the weekend. I wanted to help and thought it would be a great program for the Raleigh Elks to get involved in,” said Cheryl Howard, who volunteers as the Food Shuttle receptionist on Wednesdays. “I promote a food drive a couple times a year and many of our members give me money for ‘the kids’ regularly.”
Cheryl Howard
“Our civic partners provide crucial support to the Food Shuttle’s mission through fundraising, volunteering, and community advocacy,” said Leigh Blancato, Corporate Partnerships Manager for the Food Shuttle. “We are incredibly grateful to partners with service-minded groups and individuals as we work towards a shared vision of a hunger free community. Thank you to all our civic groups and community partners!”