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You are here: Home / Archives for Baton Rouge Gives Back

225 GIVES – Giving Tuesday – CASA Toy Drive

November 30, 2021 by Tiany Davis

Today is Giving Tuesday #GivingTuesday, a global day of giving that brings people together around the values of service and giving back to others, the perfect time to bring back our Baton Rouge Gives Back series where we highlight local nonprofits. Our local Giving Tuesday effort, 225 Gives, highlights local nonprofit organizations that uplift and strengthen our community. We will highlight some of the organizations taking part in this year’s “225 Gives” on our social media platforms throughout the day. You can also go to 225gives.org to learn more about the participating organizations!

225 GIVES

This holiday season and throughout the year, we can make a difference right here at home by giving and volunteering our time.  There are over 100 nonprofit organizations to support in the Baton Rouge area. Make it a family effort, go through the list of organizations, and ask the kids who they would like to support and why. There is no better way to teach our children that we value our community and our neighbors than by giving back as a family.

225 GIVES

One organization in particular that we are supporting this year and every year is CASA with their annual CASA Toy Drive. Capital Area CASA accepts donations from the community so that volunteers can select gifts for their CASA children to open during the holidays.

What is CASA?

CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocate. Capital Area CASA Association serves East Baton Rouge Parish and trains volunteers to advocate for these children. Children need to do more than survive;  they need to thrive in the safety and love of a family. CASA volunteers do not provide legal representation, nor do they replace social workers. A CASA volunteer is an independent voice speaking solely for the best interests of the child with the ultimate goal being a safe, permanent home.

CASA volunteers get to know the child and talk with everyone involved in the child’s life to gather facts about the child’s history and current situation. Using this information, the volunteer submits recommendations in a report to the juvenile court judge.

Since most CASA recommendations are accepted by the court, children with CASA volunteers are more likely to find permanent homes and spend less time in foster care. CASA volunteers also ensure that children’s needs are being met while in state custody.

Abused and neglected children will spend this holiday season living in foster care, rather than in a safe and permanent home with a family of their own. This holiday season, you can help bring a smile to a child served by Capital Area CASA Association by donating a new and unwrapped item. Please deliver to the CASA  office at 848 Louisiana Avenue by Friday, December 3, 2021. Contact Sarah Tranchina at (225) 379-8598 or email stranchina@casabr.org for more information.

Collectively, we can strive to make a difference in the lives of those in need; our efforts will, in turn, help create a stronger, healthier Baton Rouge for all! So join your neighbors today and become part of a growing tradition of helping and giving. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to learn more about this year’s 225 Gives Baton Rouge participants!

Filed Under: Community Outreach, Local Business Spotlight, Louisiana Tagged With: Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge Gives, Baton Rouge Gives Back, Christmas, GiveBR, Giving Tuesday

Top Box Foods Louisiana – healthy, affordable, accessible food.

October 15, 2021 by Baton Rouge Family Fun

Top Box Foods Louisiana (TBFLA) is a nonprofit organization committed to making fresh, healthy food affordable and accessible for all. Every time you shop with Tob Box Foods you directly contribute to building a more equitable and localized food system. TBFLA provides year-round access to fresh, affordable produce, frozen meats, seafood, and poultry. Anyone within our delivery range can get Top Box grocery boxes delivered FREE right to their door!

Top Box Foods

Top Box Foods – How it works

Placing an order is easy! Visit www.topboxfoods.com or call (225) 244 – 9564 to shop affordable grocery boxes and explore delicious recipes. Place your order by 11 PM Sunday to get your boxes Monday, and by 11 PM Wednesday to get your boxes Thursday. Purchases can be paid for with EBT/DSNAP or credit/debit; they even have discounts when using an EBT/DSNAP card! On delivery day, Top Box Foods will text you with live updates and a tracking code, so you never miss a delivery.

About Top Box Foods

Since 2018, TBFLA has increased access to fresh and affordable foods in Baton Rouge in collaboration with Geaux Get Healthy initiative, a project of Mayor Sharon Broome’s citywide health and wellness program, Healthy BR.

In March of 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, Top Box Foods Louisiana immediately transitioned from the traditional MGP pickup model at community hubs in low food access areas to a contact-free home delivery system. Since the transition, TBFLA has delivered 36,186 grocery boxes to 16,264 households throughout New Orleans, Baton Rouge!

Fresh, healthy food affordable and accessible for all in Baton Rouge & beyond.

Food insecurity is an issue facing families in communities across the country. Nearly one in five children in America lives in households that struggle to put food on the table. Louisiana has the fourth-highest rate of children living in poverty in the country. However, you might never know this because child hunger in America is often invisible. It could be friends, neighbors, and even family members that are struggling with food insecurity. We’re thankful to have an organization like Top Box Foods working in our community to deliver fresh, healthy food affordable and accessible for all.

Ready to place an order? Visit their brand new website to start shopping! You can also connect with Top Box Foods on Instagram and Facebook.

 

Filed Under: Causes, Community Outreach Tagged With: Baton Rouge Gives Back, Top Box Foods, Top Box Foods Baton Rouge

I am hungry.

August 7, 2016 by Guest Contributor

I am hungry.

Not in a figurative sense. Not hungry for a new pair of shoes or hungry to achieve a new milestone in my career.

I am literally hungry. My stomach feels empty more than it feels full these days and my fridge and pantry are so bare it seems that they are taunting me each time I open them to inspect their contents. I save all non-meal food items for my kids because even though I am nursing a baby and need the nutrients, I can’t stand to hear the tiny voices of my children every time they go to the cupboard only to discover there’s nothing there to eat.

food-insecurity-Baton-Rouge

I hope that they don’t remember this. I pray that, instead, they remember the laughter we have shared as I try to distract them from their desire for food. I hope that they forget the tears that fill my eyes at the thought of their tummies growling, but remember the smile on my face as we have dance parties in the living room to Taylor Swift.

I don’t even know how we got here. It all happened so fast, when just months ago the thought of going without food seemed like something that could never happen to me. We work hard, we love Jesus and we serve Him to the best of our abilities. It’s crazy how one decision made even with the best of intentions can alter the course of your life in ways you never imagined. It’s eye-opening the compassion you can express for others when you are walking through a situation you could’ve never thought you’d find yourself in.

Lately, when we do get to buy groceries, it’s only the bare necessities. I hate that I fuss at the kids the minute they run to the pantry or to the fridge for a snack because they want to sample all the food they haven’t seen in days, but I know the sooner they eat it, the sooner it’s gone. And when it’s gone, I have to hear them cry about their hunger, and it kills me.

How do you explain rations to small children? How do you tell them “If you eat this now, you will be hungry later?” How do you live with yourself as a mother when you’re digging sugar soaked fruit out of a donated can from the food pantry to feed it to your children for lunch and they beg for more but it’s all you have?

I try to thank the Lord for His provision. I try to smile while I shop at the store while I furiously calculate every penny we are spending and simultaneously determine if we will be able to keep our water running once I buy these items. I try not to cry when a friend orders us a pizza for dinner because she knows otherwise we would not have anything to eat.

Hungry in Baton Rouge

I try not to hate politicians who say that people like me should be drug tested  when we are already living in overwhelming grief and humiliation. I try not to be offended by fellow church members and Christians who want to withhold government programs that we need just to survive. I try not to resent my husband- who works tirelessly and without complaint, often three jobs at once- for us being in this position.

I try to understand what it’s like for other moms who never get a reprieve from this reality. I try to imagine what it’s like for families who don’t have electricity or comfortable beds or adequate shelter. I try not to get angry at those who have excessive amounts of money but want to hold on to it for dear life, because they somehow deserve it more than I do. More than my kids do.

I try to keep it together and to put on a happy face for those around me, but most of all for my kids. The hunger pangs screaming from within my hollow stomach burn so strong that they turn me into a person I don’t like, a mother I don’t recognize. I try so hard to be what they need me to be, but…

I am hungry.


 The above is written anonymously by a fellow Baton Rouge mom, a mom living in our community, this mom could be anyone’s neighbor. Hunger is everywhere: It’s in every community, it can also be invisible. Some 47 million Americans live in poverty. All told, 17.5 million households and 16 million children—one out of every five—struggle with hunger. Visit the Baton Rouge Food Bank to learn how you can help those hungry in our community.

Filed Under: Food, Moms, Parenting, Social Good Tagged With: Baton Rouge Food Bank, Baton Rouge Gives Back, Baton Rouge Moms, Baton Rouge volunteer, Fight Hunger Spark Change, Red Stick Moms

Three ways to Fight Hunger and Spark Change

April 14, 2016 by Tiany Davis

Disclosure: I am participating in a paid campaign on behalf of Walmart and The Motherhood to share information about the “Fight Hunger. Spark Change.” campaign.

When most people think about hunger, they think of a starving child in a third-world country or the homeless in our communities. Sadly, hunger is all around us. Nearly one in five children in America lives in households that struggle to put food on the table. Louisiana has the fourth highest rate of children living in poverty in the country. You might never know this because child hunger in America is often invisible.

As a mother of 4 and the owner of a community that strives to serve mothers, this is heartbreaking and it’s not OK. Thankfully, we have an opportunity to make a difference right here in our community. This spring, Walmart’s “Fight Hunger. Spark Change.” campaign calls on customers and suppliers to join in the fight against hunger.

Baton Rouge Food Bank

Through the “Fight Hunger. Spark Change.” campaign, Walmart is working with five suppliers — Campbell Soup Company, General Mills, Kellogg Company, the Kraft Heinz Company, and PepsiCo — to give millions of customers an opportunity to fight hunger in their local communities.

The goal is to help Feeding America secure 75 million meals on behalf of its member food banks. As the nation’s leading hunger-relief organization, the Feeding America network provides food to more than 46 million people in communities across America, including the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank! My sons and I took a trip to our local Walmart to help Feeding America by purchasing participating items as well as donating at the register for our local food bank. I was pleasantly surprised to find  many of our everyday items are included in the campaign. While our store did not have signage up, we did find the “Fight Hunger. Spark Change.”  logo on the boxes. If your store does not have signage with information about participating products, you can find a full list of Walmart’s “Fight Hunger. Spark Change.” products here.

Fight hunger. Spark Change.

 In 2015, The Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank distributed more than 8.7 million meals to the hungry in its 11-parish service area, generated 4 meals for every $1 donated, provided food to more than 115 charitable agencies and had more than 2,500 volunteers donate time, the equivalent of more than 13 full-time employees.

How You Can Help Fight Hunger and Spark Change

“Fight Hunger. Spark Change.” will run in all U.S. Walmart stores through April 25, and offers three easy ways to participate:

  1. PURCHASING: Purchase participating products in Walmart stores to help provide meals for families who struggle with hunger in your local community. For every participating product purchased at Walmart between March 28th and April 25th, 2016, the manufacturer will donate $0.09 to Feeding America – enough to secure one meal on behalf of local food banks – up to each manufacturer’s maximum donation, which is provided on the participating packages. See package or Walmart.com/FightHunger for details.
  2. DONATING: Donate to a local Feeding America food bank at the register.
  3. ONLINE: Generate donations for Feeding America food banks through online acts of support!
    • Facebook: Use of the hashtag #FightHunger and likes, shares or clicks on Walmart’s Fight Hunger. Spark Change. posts
    • Instagram: Use of the hashtag #FightHunger and likes or shares of Walmart’s Fight Hunger. Spark Change. posts
    • Twitter: Use of the hashtag #FightHunger, retweets of the hashtag #FightHunger and favoriting or clicking on Walmart’s Fight Hunger. Spark Change. posts
    • Snapchat: Use of Fight Hunger. Spark Change. filters accessible in select Walmart stores
    • Walmart.com/FightHunger: Visit the website and click the support button to activate a donation

For each online act of support, Walmart will donate enough to help Feeding America secure 10 meals (an equivalent of $0.90) on behalf of its member food banks, up to $1.5 million. To kick off the campaign, Walmart will make an initial donation of $1.5 million to Feeding America. Based on the public’s social engagement, we aim to reach a total donation of $3 million.

Please help us raise awareness of hunger in America and join us in-store and online now through April 25!

Filed Under: Baton Rouge Resources, Community Outreach, Education, Food, Social Good Tagged With: Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge families, Baton Rouge Food Drive, Baton Rouge Gives Back, Fight Hunger Spark Change, Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank, Red Stick Moms, Walmart

Dressing for Daisy

October 17, 2015 by Baton Rouge Family Fun

Today a special little girl named Daisy is turning 6, a precious little girl who is full of life and has a very contagious smile. Daisy also suffers from a rare, incurable, life threatening disease called Juvenile Myositis.  Because of her disease, she is a frequent patient at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital.

Juvenile Dermatomyositis is a form of Juvenile Myositis and is an autoimmune disease that affects the skin and muscles. The immune system attacks healthy cells and tissue causing inflammation.  In JDM, the muscles and skin are targeted and the inflammation causes weakness and rash.  Daisy was diagnosed in 2013 at age 3. She still has redness in her face but doesn’t have much of a skin issue since beginning medication. However, she does have muscle weakness, specifically in her neck and abdomen, and pain in her legs and feet. She also doesn’t have much stamina and tires easily.

Dress for Daisy

Since Daisy’s diagnosis, her family has been committed to helping find a cure.  Because JM is so rare, only 2-3 in a million children have it, they get no government funding and have no major media attention. Daisy loves to dress up.  Clothes and shoes are the quickest way to her heart, naturally, her family decided a fashion show would be the perfect fundraiser.  A fashion show will show what Daisy loves.  It was perfect and they assembled a team of retail event managers, markets, and medical field professionals.  This odd combination of team members has rocketed this event to where it is now with many sponsors of local and national businesses.

Dressing for Daisy

We, at Baton Rouge Moms, quickly fell in love with Daisy after seeing this video and we knew that we wanted to support Dressing for Daisy. The event will feature looks from Gap Kids, music, food, face painting, Princesses, SmileBox photography, raffles and more.

Dressing for Daisy

What: Dressing for Daisy Fashion Show Fundraiser
When: November 8th 2:00pm
Where: LSU Student Union
Why: To support Daisy and join forces to help find a cure for Juvenile Myositis.

You can purchase tickets and learn more at the following link—> curefordaisy.com/tickets

Please join us for an inspiring time of fashion and fun while supporting Daisy and helping find a cure for Juvenile Myositis.

Baton Rouge Gives Back

Filed Under: Causes, Events, Family Friendly Baton Rouge Tagged With: Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge Gives Back, Cure for Daisy, Dressing for Daisy

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