A 2020 Happy Holiday from AEI

Feeding America. 1 in 5 children struggle with hunger, and 1 in 9 people struggle with hunger. Feeding America has established a $2.65 million COVID-19 Response Fund this year helping ensure food banks across the country can feed those in need, including the children who rely on school meals. They have also added many mobile, drive-thru distribution centers to minimize the risk of disease spread.

Red Cross, Western Wildfires. Among the devastation in our nation this year, wildfires have affected many households and thousands of people across the West Coast. As of November, the Red Cross Western Wildfire fund provided more than 900,000 meals and snacks, over 400,000 emergency lodging overnight stays, distributed 56,000 relief items, and provided more than 3,000 households with emergency financial assistance.

Food for Thought Denver. Food for Thought Denver is run 100% by volunteers who come together to help eliminate weekend hunger for 53 schools in the Denver area. Many kids who receive food through breakfast and lunch programs during the week are left with little to eat on the weekends. Food for Thought works to address this gap by packing non-perishable food items for students to take on Friday afternoons. Last year, they donated over 1 million pounds of food to families in need.

Greater Chicago Food Depository. With over 700 partners across Cook County, IL, Chicago’s Food Bank acts as a hub to ensure families receive the food they need. They also have programs to address the root causes of hunger such as unemployment and poverty. They assist with public benefits outreach and job training to help individuals overcome obstacles and set them on a path to help remove daily hunger. A new headquarters will be opened in 2021 to allow for further community impact.

Wounded Warrior Project. The Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) honors and empower wounded warriors through programs that address mental health, career counseling, and long-term rehabilitative care. WWP holds over 20 daily events to provide community and peer connection and over 800 support group meetings. They address physical health and wellness and financial wellness as well, empowering wounded warriors to gain independence.

Connections for Abused Women and their Children (CAWC). CAWC empowers adults and children suffering from abuse to acquire skills they need to live free of fear and safely through education, institutional advocacy, and service collaboration. They give immediate safety for women and children in a domestic violence situation by providing shelter, counseling, advocacy, and an around-the-clock emergency hotline. In 2018, they ushered over 340 adults and children to safety with confidential shelter and answered over 3,500 hotline calls.

RUSH COVID-19 Response Fund. RUSH Hospital System is a top-ranked hospital built for infectious disease outbreaks and was prepared for immediate response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 Response Fund provides tools, technology, and resources to increase testing and allow staff on the frontline to care for and educate critically ill patients safely.

Adopt A Family. Families Forward helps connect the community by receiving donations that meet a family’s basic needs and provide gifts for the holiday season. Individuals select a family to “adopt” and donate items on their list so they can experience joy and warmth during the holiday. In 2019, the Adopt a Family program placed over 1,800 holiday gifts into children’s hands.

Bread of the Mighty. A partner of Feeding America, the Bread of the Mighty Food Bank in Northern Florida distributed over 18 million pounds of food this year. They have served the community for over 32 years by collecting, sorting, storing, and distributing donated basic essential items and food to over 190 non-profit agency partners in their community. With their new “Food on the Move” program, they can ensure perishable items get out of the warehouse quickly and delivered into the hands that need them.

Durham Rescue Mission. Located in Durham, NC, the Durham Rescue Mission is the largest and oldest long-term homeless shelter. They supply clothing and food, supportive housing, job training and placement, and education 24/7, 365. Durham Rescue Mission also deployed “The Victory Program” – a 12-month recovery program to help women and men overcome addiction and return to the workforce.

Houston Food Bank. A member of Feeding America, the Houston Food Bank was found in 1982 and serves 18 counties in the Houston area. They were recognized in 2015 as Food Bank of the year among 200 network members, and in 2019, received over $169,000,000 in donated food. In Houston and the surrounding communities, there are over 1 million food insecure individuals, and the Houston Food Bank secures over 104 million meals through donations, volunteer time, and community partners.

ACE Mentoring. The ACE Mentorship program brings together the construction industry, educational institutions, and the local community to teach and educate high school students on architecture, construction, and engineering. AEC industry professionals provide mentorship to student teams and work on hypothetical projects through their afterschool program. AEI participates in the ACE mentorship program to connect with students and provide long-term teaching relationships.

Lunches of Love. Lunches of Love addresses hunger in school-aged kids by committing to provide a free nutrition-filled sack lunch over the weekends and during school holidays. Kids that are relying on school lunches to stay sustained often go home to little food on the weekend. Lunches of Love provides food for the weekend for over 2,200 children and has distributed over 2 million free lunches.

Second Harvest Foodbank. Second Harvest Foodbank of Wisconsin tackles hunger by promoting hunger awareness through education, promoting government programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, FoodShare, and distributed millions of pounds of food through partner programs and agencies. The COVID-19 pandemic allowed for Second Harvest to give in greater ways as such distributed 55% more food than in 2019, providing over 11,000,000 meals to those in need, and distributing over 14,000,000 pounds of food to families in Wisconsin.

American Heart Association (AHA). The AHA has been working to save and improve lives by educating and supporting research on how to fight heart disease and stroke, for more than 90 years. Now, with more than 40 million volunteers and over 2,800 employees, they have invested over $4.5 billion in life-changing research. Through the AHA, 22 million people are trained in CPR each year, 12 million people are reached by nutrition improvements, and 19 million patients benefit from a Quality Care Initiative for High Blood Pressure.