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Many of you are familiar with YAS and even serve in some capacity as a volunteer. The economic downturn has left many public agencies unable to meet the demands of those facing hunger in our local community. As many as 456,000 people go hungry every month in Orange County alone. Sadly, food banks are no longer able to support the need as before, and donations are harder to come by. In spite of this, we thankfully continue to meet the needs of hundreds of people per month.
Currently, we receive food donations from businesses like Ralphs, Pacific Ranch and Albertsons to name a few. Additionally, Your Are Special is able to purchase a substantial amount of food at a discounted price. Still, with the growing number of people that come to us, we need to increase the amount of food we currently distribute. By paying just a few more hundred dollars a month increasing our budget slightly, we would be able to increase our food supply substantially. However, as a non-profit organization, our budget is dependent on donations and fundraisers. To that end, we are beginning a campaign entitled “Change for Change” which we hope will bring more awareness to the problem of hunger in our local community and, at the same time, help us raise funds to purchase more food to distribute.
Essentially, the “Change for Change” program will encompass selling empty cans made to look like cans of tomato soup. The cans (which are actually “piggy banks”) would allow people to collect their pocket change and then, in turn, donate the change to You Are Special.
To begin, we must purchase the “piggy bank” cans. To do this, we are sponsoring a fundraiser at the Souplantation restaurant in Tustin. Souplantation will donate to You Are Special, a percentage of every person’s purchase.[1] To participate, we invite you to print a copy of the attached flyer (1 per party), and bring your family, friends, employees and co-workers to dine at the Souplantation to help us raise funds for the programs described above.
Location: 13681 Newport Ave., Tustin, CA (corner of Newport Blvd. & Main)
Date: Thursday, October 27, 2011
Time: 5pm to 8pm
We thank you in advance for your participation. If you have any questions, or would like more information about You Are Special, I would be more than happy to speak with you personally.
Michelle Hensley
Executive Director
714-863-6058
[1] In order for You Are Special to receive credit, all guests at time of purchase must (a) order a beverage at time of purchase, (b) pay without using coupons or discounts, (c) present the attached flyer (1 per party), and (d) surrender their receipt in order for the percentage credit to be calculated.
