Our LESS Institute Team Joins the Pack (Again!) With Food for the Poor

By Abagail Sullivan

Our team joined the pack and Food for the Poor for another successful day of providing sustenance to hungry families abroad.

Guatemala has one of the highest rates of chronic child malnutrition in the world, with less than half of rural Guatemalans with access to running water, only a quarter with availability of electricity and only about one in 10 with means of modern sanitation facilities. This severe food insecurity and lack of accessible, affordable medical care has led to high infant, child and maternal mortality rates.

So our team joined the pack to help gather a whopping 150,120 meals for families in Latin America and the Caribbean, alongside hundreds of generous volunteers at the Third Annual Join the Pack Event – featuring specially formulated MannaPack meals that provide direly needed sustenance to families abroad unable to afford for their own.

“Food for the Poor gave me a sense of purpose and desire to do more for the less fortunate. As I stood inside the gymnasium surrounded by all the other volunteers I noticed how happy everyone was and eager to work together toward a greater cause. We were all determined to make as many meals as possible in the allotted time, even if it meant our backs or arms became sore from standing for hours in an assembly line – because the thought of malnourished children made it more than worth it. Volunteers that entered as strangers were high-fiving by the final count and have become lasting friends. I can’t wait to join again for our third year in a row,” attests Marketing Manager Esther Rodriguez.

“This day of giving is filled with such camaraderie, positivity and light.”

And LESS Institute Scheduling Coordinator Ana Williams agrees. “After year one of ‘joining the pack,’ we knew we’d return. This day of giving is filled with such camaraderie, positivity and light, we encourage all those who can to get involved in making even a small difference in the worlds of so many families abroad.”

We send our sincerest thank yous and gratitude to Food for the Poor, our LESS Institute team members, our fellow Manna-packers, donation givers and everyone who spread the word of this noteworthy cause!

Discover more about Food for the Poor and the motivation behind this wonderful event. And visit us on Facebook to check out our team photos and beyond.

Photos by Food For The Poor

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A Successful Day of Giving with Food for the Poor

By Abagail Sullivan

It was the LESS Institute’s pleasure to be a small part of the wonderful Food for the Poor/Join the Pack event to help feed hungry families in Haiti!

Our LESS Institute team showed up excited to help volunteer at Boca Advent Lutheran Church with Food for the Poor and became recognized for our fundraising efforts to aid.

Nearly 125,000 meals were packed by more than 500 volunteers at the Second Annual Join the Pack Event. The meals were prepared with boiling water and each bag contains six generous servings. The LESS Institute team personally packed 36 MannaPacks in each box with nearly 25 total boxes packed.

Because of our group’s efforts, a whopping 91 children will be fed every day for a WHOLE YEAR, with a total of 340 children fed from combined teamwork in this one single session. Thank you to Food for the Poor, our LESS Institute team members, our fellow Manna-packers, donators and everyone who spread the word of this noteworthy cause!

To view a video recap of our experience at the event, click here! Or visit us on Facebook to check out our team’s photo album.

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Here’s Why We’re Giving Back to Join the Pack… and Why You Should Too!

The LESS Institute is so proud to announce a volunteer and donation collaboration with Join the Pack, Food for the Poor’s community meal packing event.

We’re reaching out to YOU: please help us raise our goal of at least $500 to provide nutritional MannaPacks for starving children!

Nearly half of all child deaths under the age of five are caused by malnutrition, and after Hurricane Matthew’s destruction to Haiti, the country is currently in a state of bracing for food shortages. Now, more than ever, help is crucial to purchase, ship and deliver lifesaving meals. And Food for the Poor is aiming high: to raise enough funds to send three million meals to families in Caribbean and Latin American countries. In partnership with Feed My Starving Children, Join the Pack helps lighten the burden.

During the event, thirteen of our dedicated LESS Institute team members will join 500 like-minded volunteers with a goal of packing 100,000 specially formulated meals for starving children in Haiti. Business Manager at the LESS Institute Vanessa Chin credits many reasons for their team’s volunteer work with this organization.

Team building

We value team building and having our employees give back to something worthwhile makes the outreach doubly as rewarding.

A cause close to home

Food for the Poor’s charitable focus is on the Caribbean and while we have a few Caribbeans on our staff, a majority of our patients are Caribbean as well.

Jamaican roots

Our Founder Dr. Kingsley R. Chin and his wife Vanessa have supported Food for the Poor through their annual galas in years passed, as both their founder and ours call Jamaica home.

How You Can Help

Each Join The Pack team consists of volunteers committed to meeting a required cumulative team goal of $500 for a powerful cause, bringing nourishment and light to children in desperate need.

If you are not able to make a donation at this point, please help us reach our goal in any way you can – by sharing this post and our fundraising page through social media with #jointhepack2017 and emailing friends and family that might be interested in getting involved.

Donating is fast, easy, secure and rewarding. We appreciate any support you can provide in helping these beautiful children find their next nutritious meal. Visit our the LESS Institute fundraising page for all details on donations. Our team’s fundraising deadline is April 24.

We offer our sincerest gratitude to any and all contributions made to this wonderful cause.

You can also create your own team and join us in spreading the positivity!