Posts Tagged ‘scholarship’

Meaningful Partnerships

Thursday, September 8th, 2011

Make a difference: Click the photograph above to 'Like' the Oneida Facebook Page!

On June 6, 2010, I had the opportunity to attend the Annual Sodexo Foundation dinner, held in the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC.  It was my first experience with this dinner.  It was also my first exposure to both the many great activities the Sodexo Foundation organizes, and those programs created by individuals throughout the United States.   During the introductory presentations they shared interesting information about how the foundation got started and its vision for the future.  This helped me gain a greater understanding and appreciation for the culture within Sodexo.

During the dinner, Sodexo management recognized the efforts of several individuals who developed programs in their local communities, helping feed the hungry.  They shared the touching stories of how these children and adults decided to take action, and the incredible impact they had on others in need. They recognized six children, ages 5 to 19, who created special programs.   It was inspiring to see these young individuals spending time to make life better for others.  They were able to do so much with very few resources.  These students did not set out to gain recognition, but it was wonderful to see them rewarded for their good work.  The Sodexo Foundation made an impact in their lives with the awarding of a $5,000 Stephen J. Brady STOP Hunger Scholarship for the individual and a $5,000 matching grants for each of their hunger-related charities of choice.

The Heroes of Everyday Life program was also heart warming.  The company encourages all their employees to find ways to help fight hunger in their local communities.  Every year at this dinner, they recognize about 8 employees that they feel have really exemplified the strongest acts of giving.  They shared the individual stories of these employees and the type of impact they have made on fighting hunger.  It’s very humbling to hear what they were able to accomplish.  The recipients were extremely proud and happy to accept the grants for their local charities.

During the presentation, they shared some incredible statistics; including one in every four children in America is at risk of hunger.  I have three children of my own and everyday have at least four children in my home.  The thought that one of them could go to bed hungry really made me stop and think.   I walked away from this dinner with a huge appreciation for Sodexo and the Sodexo Foundation.  I found myself proud to have Oneida Ltd. associated with such a company.  I also wanted to find a way for Oneida to be involved in supporting this foundation and the individuals it helps everyday. 

I helped put together a program that would not only contribute to the Sodexo Foundation, but would also build sales for Oneida.  I presented to our upper management and they were immediately supportive of the idea.  Oneida committed to donating 2% of sales from our luxury and fine dining products that were sold to Sodexo business units through Edward Don, our distributor.  Our sales team, Edward Don’s sales team, and the Hunger Champion’s at Sodexo all did a great job communicating the program to help impact the results. All parties were pleased with the results of the first year of this program.

We are now very excited to kick off our second year of this program, and have moved up the date to start in September, Hunger Action Month.  We are adding a social media component thru Facebook and Twitter.  On Facebook, we will add to our total donation, $1 for every new Oneida Ltd Fan from 9/12/11 – 10/12/11, with a goal of gaining 1,000 new fans.  Fans can also donate directly to the Sodexo Foundation while on the Oneida Ltd Facebook page through a special app. Please help us make this 1,000 new fan goal a reality – click here!

Jim Schulze is senior vice president of sales for Oneida Global Foodservice.

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Baking a Difference

Friday, August 12th, 2011

Check out more "Bake Me Home" pictures by clicking on the above photograph.

Amy:    I was really happy when I found out we won the Stephen J. Brady STOP Hunger Scholarship!  I said “Wooooowwww,” when Sarah from Sodexo gave us the giant check at one of our jar filling activities.

Emma: I was stunned! I was literally in shock. I could not stop smiling!  The money we won for Bake Me Home will help us expand to help more families. The money we won for college makes us really proud that we are helping add to our college account when we are only ten. But, at the award ceremony, I was a little nervous.

Amy:    I thought it was really cool to be up there in front of almost a thousand people and get to talk too!  Our mom said not many adults would want to do that!  They got a few new catch phrases out of our video too — whenever they have a problem at Sodexo they can just say, “Let me think…” 

Emma:  Up on stage while we watched the video, all we thought was wow, what a wonderful job they did on it, and how much we love it, and how great the people working at Sodexo really are.

Amy:    We really thought Julia Pipkins’ story was super cool. How getting that box of groceries in her door as a kid changed her life and inspired her to grow up and help other hungry people.  Wouldn’t it be cool if something like that happened with a kid who got one of our Tote Bags — if they grew up to be like Julia!

Amy:    We are happy to say that the Sodexo Foundation has inspired us to create our own awards where kids write in and tell us about what they did to help an organization that helps kids. We will pick two winners at the end of the summer who will each win $100 for a charity they pick. We hope one day we can grow it to even more money!  A big part of our mission is getting other kids to volunteer, so we think this is a good idea. There is more information about our Bake Me Home Summer Service Grants on our website www.bakemehome.com.

Emma: Thank you to Sodexo and Mr. Brady’s family (we loved meeting Pascale and her daughters) for a great trip to Washington DC.  We promise to try and do lots of good with the money you gave us!

Amy and Emma Bushman are the founders of Bake Me Home. Their organization now has more than 100 volunteers helping more than 200 families each year.

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A Renewed Commitment to Fighting Childhood Hunger

Monday, January 31st, 2011

It seems unimaginable that there are children in our country that do not know where their next meal will come from. But it is a fact that 1 in 4 children in the United States don’t have access to nutritious meals that they need to grow, learn and succeed. This is why Sodexo has provided more than 2.5 million free summer lunches to children since 1997 and the Sodexo Foundation has been fighting hard to alleviate hunger since 1999.

Today, our Foundation had the pleasure of announcing its renewed commitment to fighting hunger at a summer meals summit in Baltimore with the Governor’s Office for Children. As Gaithersburg, Maryland is home to our North America headquarters, we were honored to share how Sodexo will help Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley meet the strategic goal of ending childhood hunger in Maryland by 2015.Now, I’m proud to share with you that the Sodexo Foundation has made a commitment to provide $20 million in grants and in-kind donations to support and create new, innovative approaches and solutions to ensure the 17 million children in the United States facing hunger grow up with dependable access to nutritious food to lead healthy, productive lives.Building on more than 10 years in the fight against hunger, we will increase our impact by partnering with Share Our Strength and YSA (Youth Service America) to help fund more summer meals programs like Feeding Our Future®, engage youth nationwide to join the fight and provide special grants to youth, non-profit organizations and schools.We’ll continue to focus our efforts nationally, but we will also deepen our No Kid Hungry by 2015 impact through increased funding for summer meals programs in Maryland, Virginia and Florida. Currently, 207,000 children face hunger in Maryland, only 18 percent of eligible Virginia kids participate in summer meal programs and Florida ranks 29th in the U.S. for summer meals participation. Our goal is to help these states, and others across the nation, ensure all kids have access to nutritious food where they live, learn and play.Our new commitment  will take us beyond summer meals, as we aim to engage young people to lean about hunger and poverty, and mobilize them to volunteer their time and have a direct impact in their community. I welcome your thoughts and ideas for what we should include in an online youth action center that will be developed to educate elementary, middle and high school students about hunger and poverty.Sodexo and the Sodexo Foundation will also continue to support new and existing programs including offering services such as training with our chefs to teach families how to cook easy, nutritious meals; recognizing and rewarding students who have made a significant impact in the fight against hunger with our Sodexo Foundation STOP Hunger Scholarships program; and volunteering thousands of hours each year in local food banks including our annual Sodexo Servathon.As president of the Sodexo Foundation, I take hunger personally and look forward to this next phase of achievement and working together with you, our partners and the youth of America to have an even greater impact as we fight to end childhood hunger.Steve Brady is president of the Sodexo Foundation.

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My Top 5 Reasons for Applying for the $5,000 STOP Hunger Scholarship

Thursday, January 27th, 2011

My name is Cassie Muller and fighting childhood hunger has become my passion. Three years ago I was selected as a STOP Hunger Scholar for my service providing meals to children in my community.  My favorite part is watching the kids smile while they enjoy a hot meal. With the matching grant I received from winning a Sodexo Foundation STOP Hunger Scholarship, I was able to put the money toward feeding even more children. To learn more about my story, click here.

Applications are now being taken for the Sodexo Foundation’s 2011 STOP Hunger Scholarship program, which recognizes the great work young people do in their communities to fight hunger. STOP Hunger Scholars receive a $5,000 scholarship and the local organization of their choice also receives a $5,000 grant.

In these challenging times, $5,000 for school is quite an incentive to fill out an application But…if you need some more motivation, here are the Top 5 Reasons For Applying for the STOP Hunger Scholarship:

5.   Scholarships have been awarded to students as young as 7 and as “old” as 22.
4.   You get to fly to Washington, D.C. to attend the Sodexo Foundation dinner—for free.
3.   Winning a $5,000 scholarship is better than mowing lawns or scooping ice cream to raise money for school!
2.   Meet other STOP Hunger Scholars who are also doing their part to fight hunger.
1.   You don’t volunteer for the money or honor, but it’s always nice to be recognized for helping others.

If you need even more of a reason, click here to see for yourself how other STOP Hunger Scholars are fighting hunger in their communities.

Have I convinced you? I hope so, because now’s the time to apply for the Sodexo Foundation 2011 STOP Hunger Scholarships. Don’t wait – the application period closes February 18, 2011!

Cassie Muller is a 2008 Sodexo Foundation STOP Hunger Scholar.

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Win a $5,000 Scholarship for all the Good Work You Do!

Thursday, January 13th, 2011

Click to apply!

My name is Joshua Williams and I want to tell you about the STOP Hunger Scholarships which honor students who are working in our neighborhoods and communities fighting hunger.

I’m 9 now, but started helping to feed hungry people in Miami when I was much younger. My Foundation, Joshua’s Heart, distributes food every week to homeless, elderly, and homebound people in our community. Watch my foundation in action here. I look REALLY young, but it’s still just me! There was also an article written about Joshua’s Heart by Sodexo, which you can click here to read.

As a 2010 STOP Hunger Scholar, I was awarded a $5,000 scholarship (which my mom put in the bank for college!) In addition, Joshua’s Heart received a $5,000 grant, which was incredibly helpful in these tough economic times.

So if $5000 for school and $5000 for the charity of your choice sounds good, then now’s the time to apply for the Sodexo Foundation 2011 STOP Hunger Scholarships!

If you’re making a difference helping hungry people in your community, you should tell the Sodexo Foundation about it — maybe you will be selected as one of this year’s national STOP Hunger Scholars.

Your local charity will get a much needed grant and you’ll get a great head start on paying for college. Don’t wait – applications close February 18, 2011!

Joshua Williams is a 2010 STOP Hunger Scholar and the founder of the Joshua’s Heart foundation.

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Joshua’s All Heart

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

I started Joshua’s Heart when I was just four and a half years old. One Sunday morning, before church, I happened to see a commercial for Feed the Children on TV. That moment opened my eyes. I had no idea children lived that way; they were starving and so skinny. I wanted to help them so badly. I knew I had to do something. Since that day, I felt that this was my purpose. I think God gave me that feeling. My purpose was to help others who have no choice but to go hungry.

In order to fulfill my purpose, I begged my family to do more. The whole family started to work together to feed the homeless; soon we were feeding 150 a week. We did this until we were told it was against the law to give food in public. That didn’t stop me, though. We found a way to give away more food through my grandmother’s church to families that needed it. Our work grew and I loved it. I was making a difference.
Joshua’s Heart Foundation was officially founded with the help of my mom, my aunt, and a consultant.

Now I have helped donate over 250,000 pounds of food to over 1,000 families in South Florida. I have raised over $90,000 for my cause. I speak at schools and to any group that will listen in hopes of inspiring others to give back to the community.

Joshua’s Heart has big plans this fall. We are having a fundraiser to help start our first backpack program to send children home with a backpack of food for the weekend each Friday. It is also my goal to have ambassadors for Joshua’s Heart in every state and around the world.

I recently received an award from the Sodexo Foundation for my efforts to fight hunger. It included a $5,000 scholarship for my education and a $5,000 grant to Joshua’s Heart Foundation. I am so happy that this scholarship will help me achieve my dream of a college degree, and the generous donation to Joshua’s Heart Foundation will help put food on empty plates this summer.

I am thankful for all those who have helped me and for those who continue to do so. I will never stop working hard to beat hunger one community at a time. But I need your help…

Joshua is a 2010 Sodexo Foundation STOP Hunger Scholarship Award winner. Click here for more on Joshua and other awardees.

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