-Boys & Girls Clubs of the Capital Area Chief Operations Officer Patrick Doyle; Boys & Girls Clubs of the Capital Area Chief Executive Officer Justin Reuter; Capital Region Dunkin’ Franchisee Ivo Garcia; and Dunkin’ Brands Operations Manager Nicole Pecori.
Dunkin’ Brands Operations Manager Nicole Pecori (left) and Capital Region Dunkin’ Franchisee Ivo Garcia (right) present Hope 7 Community Center Executive Director Michael Finocchi (center) with a $10,000 grant
Funding will provide more than 10,000 meals for families in the Capital Region and help address food insecurities amongst 400 children in the city of Troy
TROY, NY – The Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation today announced a $35,000 grant to benefit two organizations supporting children and families throughout the Capital Region: the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Capital Area and Hope 7 Community Center.
These grants will help the local organizations provide more meals to families in need and continue to address food insecurities in the community as more people are facing challenges in the wake of the pandemic.
The grants are part of a recent $1.5 million commitment by Dunkin’s Foundation to provide health and hunger organizations with support during a period of significant need and unprecedented challenges due to the pandemic. The funding will help nearly 125 organizations across the country continue to provide vital services to families by increasing access to food and health services.
“The Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation and our Capital Region franchisees are thrilled to celebrate a January of Joy with several non-profit organizations in the Capital Region that share our commitment to bringing joy to kids and helping them live healthier lives,” said Dunkin’ Field Marketing Manager, Eric Stensland. “We know how critical the services provided by these organizations are to kids and families in the Capital Region which is why we’re so proud to support their work in the community.”
The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Capital Area, which offers programming in Albany, Troy, Feura Bush, Cohoes and Watervliet, will receive $25,000 in funding that will be used to provide more than 10,000 meals for families throughout the Capital Region. The grant will also allow the Boys & Girls Clubs to purchase equipment to more efficiently transport food to meal sites. In 2020, the Club’s meal program served more than 460,000 meals, a number the organization anticipates will grow as demand continues to increase throughout the community.
“We could not carry out our meal program operations without the support of our many dedicated donors and volunteers,” said Boys & Girls Clubs of the Capital Area Chief Executive Officer Justin Reuter. “This generous gift from the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation will allow us to feed many more mouths and further support the community we care so much about. We would like to sincerely thank the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation and Capital Region franchisees for supporting the children and families in our community.”
The Hope 7 Community Center will receive $10,000 in funding that will be used to support its food pantry and will assist more than 400 children facing food insecurity on the East Side of Troy and Wynantskill. In addition to a food pantry, the Hope 7 Community Center provides numerous services and resources to children and families in need, including after-school programing, traveling summer camps and ongoing community outreach.
“During these times of uncertainty, we are so grateful that the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation has graciously awarded the Hope 7 Food Pantry with $10,000 to help us continue to support those in our community,” said Hope 7 Community Center Executive Director Michael Finocchi. “With the onset of the pandemic, we saw a dramatic increase in the number of children and families facing food insecurities and requiring our services. This grant will allow us to assist hundreds of children with the majority of them being from single parent households or where grandparents are the sole guardians.”
This latest round of funding follows the Foundation’s $1.25 million in grants distributed in March 2020 to support health and hunger relief organizations during the early days of the pandemic.
In 2020, the Joy in Childhood Foundation provided more than $4.5 million in grants to 350 organizations around the country and has granted over $26 million since its inception. To learn more about the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation, visit www.bringjoy.org or follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
About the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation
The Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation, the charitable foundation supported by Dunkin’ and the generosity of its franchisees, guests, vendor partners and employees, provides the simple joys of childhood to kids battling hunger or illness. The Foundation partners with food banks, children’s hospitals and nonprofit organizations to fund joyful environments and joyful experiences for kids when they need it most. Since 2006, the Joy in Childhood Foundation has granted more than $30 million to hundreds of national and local charities across the country. For more information, please visit www.bringjoy.org.