FruitGuys Customers Rock!
We want to thank all the generous FruitGuys clients who forwarded their holiday crates to those in need through our Donate-A-Crate program last year. More than 180 crates - that’s 7,300 pieces of fruit - were sent to food-banks and programs for families in need between the Thanksgiving and New Years holidays 2008. Your crates went to The Riley Center, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Project Open Hand, Yeah!, and the Sophia Project in the San Francisco Bay Area. To Philabundance and City Harvest on the East Coast, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository.
Jo Ellen Peterson, Development Director at Sophia Project, an Oakland, CA program that serves children and families who are at risk of recurring homelessness, told FruitGuys News, “Our families received the fruit and were very grateful for it. In these very distressing economical times, having wonderful fresh fruit is the treat of treats,” Peterson added, “We are grateful for the opportunity to be able to encourage their fruit consumption at home. In some cases, our families were able to share with their extended families and with their neighbors, so the circle of your generosity was wide indeed."
You can forward your crate any time of year. Just contact us at info@fruitguys.com or 877-FRUIT-ME (877-378-4863).
We will make a donation of your fruit to one of the worthy organizations we have chosen from different regions around the United States (listed below) or choose a charity of your choice if it is in close proximity to one of our regional hubs - San Francisco, Chicago or Philadelphia.
SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA
The Riley Center offers safe and confidential services for any woman in an abusive relationship and her children through Rosalie House, Brennan House, the Community Office, and CalWORKs. Every year in San Francisco there are more than 9,000 reported incidents of domestic violence against women. Many of these women feel trapped in the cycle of violence by limited options and resources. Every year, more than 1,000 women reach out to the Riley Center for shelter and referrals. The Riley Center is also one of the many programs of the St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Francisco. The Society serves 180,000 men, women and children annually in its commitment to break the cycle of homelessness.
The largest homeless shelter in Northern California. Shelters, feeds and supports 340 homeless men and women every night, and provides drop-in services to 150 each day. In addition to a safe place to sleep, full breakfast and dinner, the Multi-Service Center offers crisis counseling, drop-in medical care and HIV-testing, mental health and substance abuse case management, job and housing search assistance, a library and computer lab, support groups for those recovering from trauma, and emergency clothing, shower and laundry facilities.
Project Open Hand provides food and nourishment to improve the quality of life for the men, women and children it serves. Project Open Hand programs include: meal, grocery and nutrition counseling for people with symptomatic HIV and AIDS; congregate lunch and nutrition education for people over 60 years of age; meal service for homebound and critically ill people under the age of 60.
YEAH! is a program, professionally-directed and volunteer-powered, that provides seasonal shelter for homeless youth in Berkeley. In the twenty weeks of the last winter season we provided 3,700 bed-nights to 174 different youth between the ages of 18 and 25. We also served 10,000 meals and provided 1,500 showers.
Sophia Project serves children and families who are at risk of recurring homelessness and its effects. We are located in a low income neighborhood in West Oakland. Our programs include infant and toddler program and care, early childhood education, extended hours of childcare, a before and after school program which includes both tutoring and care, artistic activities, a weekend respite program, parenting education and family support services.
PHILADELPHIA AREA
Philabundance works to end hunger and malnutrition in the Delaware Valley by acquiring food and distributing it through organizations serving people in need.
Since its founding, as a part-time domestic violence hotline in a neighborhood women's center, Women Against Abuse, Inc. (WAA) has been the only comprehensive program in Philadelphia whose sole purpose is to assist victims of domestic violence and their children. The organization has grown to become one of the largest domestic violence programs not only in our state but also in the country. Last year, WAA served 10,768 individuals. The mission of WAA is to provide quality and compassionate services, in a manner that fosters self-respect and independence in persons who have been victimized by domestic violence.
City Harvest exists to end hunger in communities throughout New York City. We do this through food rescue and distribution, education, and other practical, innovative solutions.
CHICAGO
The Greater Chicago Food Depository, Chicago’s food bank, is a nonprofit food distribution and training center providing food for hungry people while striving to end hunger in our community. The Food Depository distributes donated and purchased food through a network of 600 food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters to 500,000 adults and children every year. Last year, the Food Depository distributed more than 46 million pounds of nonperishable food and fresh produce, dairy products and meat, the equivalent of more than 95,000 meals every day. Innovative training programs and initiatives developed by the Food Depository also work to provide men, women and children with the tools necessary to break their individual cycles of poverty.
Enjoy and be fruitful!