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Engaging Young Professionals in Our Mission of Service

Monday May 8, 2023

For decades now, the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank has been blessed to have a strong base of supporters who volunteer their time, talents, and treasures to support our mission of serving the hungry across our 11-parish service area. We are truly grateful for our supporters who span generations. From school-age children to retired adults, the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank is blessed to have dedicated advocates for our vital feeding programs.

One of the cycles that we see at the Food Bank is that our supporters start out as volunteers at an early age either in youth groups or earning community service hours through their local schools. As they enter the workforce, they visit us again as volunteers through team-building exercises or company sponsors sort-n-repack projects in our warehouse. It’s when people become young professionals that they really start to feel a connection with their community looking for ways to give back and be a part of something special.

To engage more young professionals in the cause, your Food Bank has been holding Sip ‘n’ Sort events that bring young working individuals together from different places and backgrounds to both socialize with new people their age and to sort and pack food in a team environment.

The event starts with a few hors d’oeuvres and light spirits where people can get to know each other through a meet and greet, and then they move on into the volunteer area to work together sorting food and packing boxes for distribution. It is a great time to connect with others and expand both business and social networks here locally. With each event that is held, we have continued to see more and more people attending and talking about how much they enjoyed the experience and meeting others while also giving back.

On the heels of the success of these events, we have taken the engagement a step further by creating a Young Philanthropists Society (YPS) which offers young professionals an opportunity to make an impact in the fight against hunger in a financial way if they are so inclined.

The Young Philanthropists Society includes those who are open to making an annual gift of $500 or more to the Food Bank as they work to create their personal legacy of giving back over time. YPS members can participate in many hands-on volunteer projects throughout the year, serve on our young philanthropist’s advisory council, and are recognized on our website and in social media spotlights. Are you a young professional looking to get more involved in a great cause? Contact us today at (225) 359-9940 to learn more how to get started.

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