Haymarket Food Pantry participates in #GivingTuesday

The Haymarket Regional Food Pantry (HRFP) has joined #GivingTuesday, a global day of giving that harnesses the collective power of individuals, communities and organizations to encourage philanthropy and celebrate generosity.

Giving Tuesday is held each year after Black Friday and Cyber Monday on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving. This year’s event falls on December 1, 2015. This special day of giving was created to inspire people to collaborate in improving their local communities and give back in impactful ways to the charities and causes they support.

501(c)3 tax exempt corporation, the HRFP was founded in 2004 to address hunger and food insecurity in Haymarket/Gainesville and the surrounding area. From its beginnings within the closet of a church office to its current operation in the town of Haymarket, the pantry is assisted by over 500 volunteers – none of whom are paid for their work.

The HRFP provides three days of food once per week to more than 2,400 individuals per month, fulfilling a vital need in the community. Two-thirds of the Haymarket Regional Food Pantry’s clients are children and senior citizens.

Some of the Food Pantry’s clients depend on this community organization as an extra source of food to make it through short-lived trials while others need longer term food assistance due to job loss, life-changing illness, medical bills, limited retirement income, single parent homes, seasonal job fluctuations, or just the reality of not earning enough money to keep food on the table.

“With the approach of winter, our donation of food goods goes down significantly but the need does not,” shared HRFP Executive Director, Eileen Smith. “Your gift on #GivingTuesday can keep our shelves from becoming empty this winter and spring.” Dennis Corrigan, an HRFP Board member and the President of Mosquito Joe, one of several corporate sponsors said, “We in the U.S. are fortunate to have significant federal, state and local organizations who serve those in need. But the reality is that often bureaucracy takes time to solve the systemic issues that cause food insufficiency. The HRFP recognized that food is a daily need, one which they can provide immediately. Providing food is a cause with immediate benefits for those who need it and for which I am glad to support.”

This year marks the first time that the Food Pantry will be participating in #GivingTuesday. A cultural center in New York City, 92Y conceptualized #GivingTuesday as a new way of linking individuals and causes to strengthen communities and encourage giving.

In 2014, the third year of the movement, #GivingTuesday brought together 30,000 partners in 68 countries and registered 32.7 million impressions on Twitter, with its hashtag mentioned 698,600 times. Since 2012, online giving on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving has increased more than four-fold, based on findings by Blackbaud and the Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, produced in partnership with the Case Foundation How Can You Support the HRFP on #GivingTuesday?

There are two things you can do to make the Food Pantry’s #GivingTuesday efforts a success

First, you can visit the Food Pantry website at HaymarketFoodPantry.org/GivingTuesday and make a donation.

“The more people that participate, the greater our success,” explains Smith. “Any amount is genuinely appreciated. Working together, we can make a real difference in the lives of individuals and families who literally may not be able to eat without the resources of the Food Pantry.”

The second way to help is to spread the word, and technology makes that easy to do. Let your family and friends know via email or share information on Facebook about the Food Pantry’s #GivingTuesday drive on Tuesday, December 1.

Give them the opportunity to support the work of the Haymarket Regional Food Pantry and ask them to spread the word too.