Joshua’s Heart Boca Raton makes Global Youth Service Day special for 165 families amid COVID-19

Press Release (ePRNews.com) - DELRAY BEACH, Fla. - May 26, 2020 - The Joshua’s Heart Foundation, led by its Founder and Chair of their Boca Raton Junior Advisory Board, Colin Wanless, his parents and brother joined forces with the staff of the Milagro Center in Delray Beach in a food distribution to local residents. Families in Boca Raton and Delray Beach were provided with fresh fruits and vegetables, pasta, rice and other provisions that were placed in car trunks to help ease the strain of the shut down due to the coronavirus.

Families sheltering in place and many furloughed from their jobs find it harder, as time presses on, to provide for themselves and family. Assistance for these residents came when local sponsor Fresh Point, partnered with Joshua’s Heart along with donations from several local families who follow and support the JHF initiative and Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) mission.  Through a collaboration with Mount Olive Baptist Church, several care boxes were also distributed to homeless families in Delray Beach.

2020 GYSD at the Milagro Center had the following outcomes:

·       4,116 lbs. of food or the equivalent of 3,430 meals were served

·       165 participants were on hand to receive the goods and services.

Colin was happy that the group was able to make a difference despite all the concern for potential shortage in the pandemic. “With the increased need for food and supplies for families experiencing economic and food crisis during the shut-down, I am happy Joshua’s Heart is able to make a small difference during these challenging times”, said Wanless.

This yearly opportunity that not only affords the young people of Joshua’s Heart the chance to give back it also allows them to experience the day to day operations of running a non-profit organization. They were actively involved in the requests for donations and other fundraising activities. GYSD, an initiative of Youth Service America and SODEXO Stop Hunger Foundation, increases awareness to not just youth volunteers but also to the media and local officials on the hunger challenges facing their local community.

Youth Service America
YSA believes that youth, communities and democracy thrive when we all work together for the common good. YSA is a leading global nonprofit that activates young people, ages 5-25, to find their voice, take action and acquire powerful civic and 21st Century skills as they solve problems facing their communities. YSA supports its activation campaigns with grants, training and resources, and recognition programs for young people and their adult champions. Youth-led projects use Awareness, Service, Advocacy, and Philanthropy (ASAP) strategies to create social and environment change. www.YSA.org and www.GYSD.org.

Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation
The Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation works with and through partners to help end childhood hunger in the United States because no child should be hungry today or risk being hungry again tomorrow. Sodexo, Inc., which funds all administrative costs, and the nonprofit Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation, mobilize experts, innovators, volunteers and donors to feed children; to advocate for policies to end childhood hunger; and to implement innovative potential solutions, particularly those designed by youth. In 2018, Sodexo contributed over 159,500 in volunteer hours and since 1996 has leveraged nearly $34.5 million in grant dollars to help end childhood hunger. For more information, visit www.SodexoFoundation.org and www.SodexoUSA.com

Joshua’s Heart Foundation (JHF)
JHF was founded in 2005 in Miami, Florida by Joshua when he was four and a half years old and is dedicated to the fight against global hunger and poverty. JHF is a 501(c) 3 not-for-profit, which empowers needy people to improve their quality of life by providing necessities like groceries and personal items. We also effectively engage and educate young people in committing to fight hunger and poverty on a global basis. Learn more at www.joshuasheart.org.