Quarterly News | September '23

A red backpack with school supplies overflowing out of it

FAST FACTS

Back to School!

Central Florida students have all returned to school. As kids are digging into their studies, let’s remember the forgotten school supply that makes a huge difference for students.. FOOD! Please join us in supporting our programs.

Our Waitlist Is Growing

We have many schools on our waitlist with needs ranging from 10 students to 200. For more information on sponsoring a school or a classroom, please contact us at sarahcarlson@blessingsinabackpack.org or (407) 607-6599.

Did you know you can sponsor a local child for only $11 a month?

Sponsor a Child

A group of excited children holding bags of food above their heads.

YOUR IMPACT

The 2022-23 Impact Report is out, and here are some highlights:

5,765 children served
211,700 hunger-free weekends
1,400 volunteer hours

You continue to have a positive impact on Central Florida students & we cannot thank you enough!

Read all about it HERE

Make an impact and create encouraging notecards!

Do you know a high school student looking for Bright Futures service hours? We always need encouraging note cards for our students’ Blessings bags!

Find downloadable templates and helpful tips by clicking here

UPCOMING EVENTS

November 28

Giving Tuesday

1 month notice

Your group’s packing event!

MORE INFO HERE

Join an Event Committee

We are looking for help planning upcoming events! Lend a hand to help us feed kids on the weekends.

Upcoming events include:

Talk of the Town Dinner
Golf Outing at Alaqua

Contact Sarah Carlson if interested in volunteering

JOIN THE JUSTIN ROSE BIRDIES FOR BLESSINGS BRIGADE:

Justin is heading to the Ryder Cup on Team Europe. Let’s celebrate by feeding kids this weekend!

Justin Rose made 88 birdies and two eagles between 4/1/23 and 6/30/23
Make a donation based on the number of birdies and eagles he made.
We feed Orlando area children.

You are now a member of the Justin Rose Birdies for Blessings Brigade!

New Brigade members will be recognized on the Orlando Blessings website, social media, and in our quarterly e-news!

Justin Rose wins Pebble Beach, holds crystal trophy

Click here to celebrate Justin's win by joining the Birdies for Blessings Brigade!

CORE NEWS:

We are proud to welcome LaKeisha Staten to our Advisory Board

LaKeisha has been in education for over 16 years as a teacher, special education case manager, high school counselor, and licensed mental health therapist. She is invested in improving the public education system for all students, but especially those who are members of marginalized groups.

We are thrilled to gain her perspective, and with her help, feed even more kids in Central Florida on the weekends. Please help us welcome LaKeisha to the Blessings team!

Vera Bradley Gives Free Gift With Donation to Blessings

This back-to-school season, get an exclusive Vera Bradley Backpack Bag Charm FREE with your donation of $10 or more to Blessings in a Backpack – while supplies last!

GOOD APPLES:

Thank you to Conga & Salesforce for another 500 hunger-free weekends!

At their Conga Connect conference in April, attendees from Conga and Salesforce teamed up to pack 500 bags of weekend nutrition for Central Florida kids, bringing their grand total to 1,250 hunger-free weekends!

A huge thanks to the wonderful people who helped to pull this together. The 500 bags of food were given to students at Pine Crest Elementary in Sanford, Spring Lake Elementary in Ocoee, and Lockhart Middle School.

Presidio, Pure Storage, and Alteryx join forces to feed kids on the weekends!

At a recent conference in Orlando, the leadership teams from Presidio, Pure Storage, and Alteryx worked during their lunch hour to ensure that kids at Boggy Creek Elementary had enough to eat over the weekend.

This team packed 250 bags of food, providing a month of hunger-free weekends for students facing food insecurity.

Thank you all!

Talk of the Town Restaurant Group Foundation celebrates more than $2 million donated to local charities

We were so grateful to be included in their celebration! The evening resulted in an additional $5,000 gift to help us feed kids on the weekends in Central Florida.

THANK YOU TO OUR DONORS:

Reflects giving from April 1, 2023 to June 30, 2023

$100,000 and Up

Kate & Justin Rose Foundation Logo

$50,000 – $99,999

$10,000 – $24,999

Elite Island Resorts

$5,000 – $9,999

Atlantic Beach Urban Farms, LLC

Excel Sports Management*

Thomas Ryan

$2,500 – $4,999

The Broadmoor House, LLC

Conga

Tiffany & Co.*

Valley Bank

Judd Webster

$1,000 – $2,499

David Berlin*

Mr. & Mrs. David E. Carling

Sarah and Eric Carlson

Frank Dabtosu

Diana Griffin

Lynne & Stan Hildebrand

The Dr. P. Phillips Foundation

Signature Wealth Partners

Bryn Thomas

$500 – $999

Nemours Children’s Health

PRP Wines International*

SMPS Central Florida

WESH 2

THE JUSTIN ROSE BIRDIES FOR BLESSINGS BRIGADE

Anonymous Donor

David Mitchell

Charles Young

*Denotes In-Kind Donor