Category: Giving Back

Activity, Giving Back

#Chefs4Vegas Host a Fresh Food Drive Weekly for Locals

Aug 8, 2020 , , , , , by Jalyn T

Local Las Vegas Chefs and their families come together weekly to distribute fresh foods to Las Vegas local and neighboring communities.

The kindness shown by Las Vegas locals has only grown since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Locals are taking time out of their days to come out and make sure that community members have essential food items. 

Chefs4Vegas is a recently formed group of local chefs that organize weekly food distributions to support the Las Vegas community.  Thanks to a grant from the USDA, Get Fresh, a local produce vendor built 25 pound boxes of fresh produce to compliment the partnership with Chefs4Vegas. On distribution days,  deliveries are made by 8am for the event to start promptly at 9am. This weekly event is set to serve up to 300 families in a drive by, contactless setting.

Volunteers handing out children’s coloring books

“Our overall goal is to help our community through the best way chefs know how, through food.” Said Chef Jon Batista, President of Chefs4Vegas and owner of the Your Panadas food truck. 

To date, Chefs4Vegas has delivered over 15,000 boxes (188 tons) of fresh produce to churches, community centers, families, and other key sites experiencing food insecurities.

Chefs4Vegas has now been granted a 501c3, which acknowledged them as a full-fledged non-profit organization. Recognized by Clark County Commissioner, Tick Segerblom, the chefs were awarded a proclamation as a testament to the dedication of the entire group helping locals in a time of crisis. 

June 24th was another big day for Chefs4Vegas as they traveled to McGill, Nevada to set up a food pantry for that community. They served over 1,200 community members including members in Ely and White Pine County. 

The novel Coronavirus disease, COVID-19 is creating an evolving situation with varied impacts felt in our city and around the world. That being said, it is crucial that organizations like Chefs4Vegas continue to carry out these charitable events. 

Please support their initiative by following them on social media and donating to their mission.

Please share your comments about Chefs4Vegas and their supportive efforts in the comment section below.

Giving Back

Three Square Keeps Las Vegas Locals Fed During Pandemic

Jun 16, 2020 , , , by Jalyn T

Three Square strives to feed the community of Las Vegas during the Coronavirus pandemic.

The Coronavirus has taken a toll on the world, but Las Vegas locals will not let this pandemic stop the good works of keeping our community solid. In mid-March Three Square Food Bank implemented an Emergency Food Distribution Strategy in response to COVID-19. 

In an effort to serve as many community members as possible, Three Square collaborated with select agency partners and volunteers located in key regions throughout Las Vegas Valley. These volunteers assisted with the distribution of food at 40 emergency food distribution sites.  Palace Station was one of these sites! 

Photo credit: @JeffScheid

Starting March 11, Three Square implemented a disaster response plan to address the following: school and business closures, drastic declines in retail food donations, social distancing limitations on volunteer efforts, reduced on-site staff support, and the need for low-contact food distributions. These strategies were put in place to make sure that the Las Vegas community still had access to food during these uncertain times.

Photo credit: @JeffScheid

The Nevada National Guard was also called to respond and help Three Square with their initiatives. Soldiers helped direct traffic as cars lined up to receive their goods.

There have been a number of changes since that time, including the number of emergency food distribution sites as well as locations, hours and dates of operation. A current updated list of distribution sites can be found at three square.org/help. 

Since the beginning, Three Square has increased weekly food distribution from 1 million pounds to 1.3 million pounds—the equivalent of 250,000 meals per week. With nearly 30,000 calls to the Three Square call center, about 6.5 million meals have been distributed since March 16th.

Photo credit: @JeffScheid

Three Square is a Southern Nevada food bank that brings together the resources, the experience and the passion of the people and businesses of Southern Nevada to make sure children, individuals and seniors receive the food they need. 

Three Square has created a Coronavirus Emergency Food Fund to help them remain nimble in responding to food assistance needs across the valley. For more information on how you can donate to the Three Square Coronavirus Emergency Food Fund, please visit threesquare.org or call at (702) 644-3663.

Please share your comments about Three Square’s service to the community in the comment section below.

Giving Back

Las Vegas Locals Show Support for Burn Victims

Jun 3, 2020 , , , by Jalyn T

Las Vegas locals support the Nevada Burn Foundation to help send local kids to Burn Camp.

On Saturday May 30th, Las Vegas locals gathered at Sunrise Coffee with the Firefighters of Southern Nevada Burn Foundation to support burn victims around the city. The community showed their support to the Nevada Burn Foundation’s mission to send burn-injured children to Burn Camp this summer. To support this initiative, the Nevada Burn Foundation, Sunrise Coffee, and Mothership Coffee Roasters hosted a pop-up event called, Coffee for a Cause. 

Volunteer firefighters from around the Las Vegas Valley served coffee, shared a coffee with patrons, and helped sell the official specialty Burn Foundation coffee bag packaged by Mothership Coffee Roasters. The community showed their support by attending curbside or dining in. All proceeds of the coffee bag sales are sent to the Burn Foundation. The Burn Foundation is represented by all fire departments in Southern Nevada. These proceeds will send children to Burn Camp this summer.  

Burn Camp, also known as Camp Beyond the Scars is a camp for kids throughout Southern Nevada and Southern California. This one week camp supports kids that have been burned in fire-related incidents. It helps kids see beyond their own scars by learning who they are on the inside and that they are not just the scars that cover their bodies. The camp includes archery, swimming, group interaction, a ropes course and many other activities towards growth and facing their fears.

Each year, the UMC Burn Center helps hundreds of families heal from their fire injuries and trauma. While someone’s insurance may cover most of their physical rehabilitation, it oftentimes does not help these people reintegrate with their normal lives.

Later this year the Burn Foundation is also preparing for its annual Firefighter Auction. The auction raises funds for their Burn Survivor Initiative, which provides support for families, children, and individuals through burn injuries and catastrophes. 

For more information about the Burn Foundation’s Burn Survivor Initiative visit nvburn.org/rise 

Please share your comments about Coffee for a Cause in the comment section below.

Giving Back

Las Vegas Locals Help Rise Against Hunger!

May 20, 2020 , , , by Jalyn T

To kick off 2020, the Summerlin Rotary Club partnered with Rise Against Hunger to organize a meal packaging event at Mountain View Presbyterian Church providing meals to children overseas at.

Each meal consists of a combination of rice, soy, dry veggies and nutritional packets. An assembly line and stations are organized by a Rise Against Hunger representative to monitor and ensure sanitation and precision for each meal.

This event is providing meals for two hundred and twenty-six days a year and guarantees that these children are getting fed. Meals are distributed through schools and orphanages primarily in seventy-four countries within Africa and Central America. 

“If a child is not being fed, the last thing on their mind would be learning something.” Says event organizer, Robert Bridel. “Their mind is focused on where their next meal is coming from”.

Robert Bridel – Event Organizer

This event is an international benefit to hunger with a community effort to support. It gives  people who want to feed hungry children a hands on opportunity to come together for the global cause.This initiative is very hands-on and kids are encouraged to participate. Children age 5 and up can participate in Rise Against Hunger’s meal packaging program. There are a variety of jobs throughout the assembly line process that can accommodate young children and people with special needs.

Rise Against Hunger is an international hunger relief organization that distributes food and life-changing aid to the world’s most vulnerable, mobilizing the necessary resources to end hunger by 2030. 

Rise Against Hunger meal packaging volunteers produce millions of nutritious meals annually that are then distributed to partners in countries around the world. Rise Against Hunger ensures the distributed meals are used as a tool to change lives by promoting education, improving students’ health and nutrition, addressing gender inequalities, stimulating economic growth and fighting child labor.

“This event is one of the most exciting things to be a part of.” Says attendee, Jim F. “It’s a lot of fun and it makes a difference in the world. We have people from every walk of life here. People read about it in the media and just showed up to help and be a part of a great event, there’s well over one-hundred people here. 

By providing an immensely fulfilling, impactful and fun experience for volunteers, this event serves as a platform to educate people about hunger, what they can do about it, and to inspire them to take further action. 

Please share your thoughts about Las Vegas local efforts to decrease world hunger.