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Chick-fil-A awards first True Inspiration Awards grants
in Puerto Rico
January 9, 2024
Two nonprofits granted a collective $275K to continue high-impact work
Every year, nonprofits throughout the communities served by Chick-fil-A® restaurants eagerly await the outcome of our True Inspiration Awards® program. Started in 2015, these annual grants by Chick-fil-A, Inc. recognize local efforts by organizations to care for communities, people or our planet.
For the first time this year, we’re pleased to announce two winners in Puerto Rico.
Feeding those in need
Banco de Alimentos de Puerto Rico Inc., an affiliate of Feeding America, received $200,000 to expand its Mochila Alegre (Happy Backpack) initiative. Through this program, over 1,200 food-insecure children receive weekend and vacation meals, so they don’t go hungry when school is not in session. The outreach impacts 31 of Puerto Rico’s 78 municipalities.
According to Banco de Alimentos de Puerto Rico Inc., more than half of Puerto Rican children face hunger and one in three experience extreme poverty. The devastation of Hurricane Maria, recent earthquakes and various social issues have exacerbated poverty in the area.
• Recipients of the program, between the ages of 3 and 12, are identified by school social workers.
• Each child receives a weekly backpack with the ingredients for seven easy-to-prepare meals and four snacks.
• Teachers ensure that these backpacks are issued discretely every Friday.
The Mochila Alegre program is critically important since Puerto Rico does not receive the same level of federal support as U.S. mainland states. Through the True Inspiration Awards grant, the organization will extend the reach of its program to 100 more recipients in municipalities that were not served previously.
Encouraging youth entrepreneurship
The second True Inspiration Awards grant in Puerto Rico was awarded to Friends of Puerto Rico. The organization received $75,000 for their SEEDS after-school initiative, which encourages student entrepreneurship, financial literacy and business readiness among at-risk youth.
• Now in its fifth year, the SEEDS program teaches young people identified with high economic needs how to start a business from the ground-up.
• Students tackle real-world business problems and engage with business leaders from on and off the island.
• As part of the training, these young people sell products they create—often gourmet food or artisanal merchandise –through SEEDs marketplaces.
• Any proceeds they earn go back to each student and their families in an effort to encourage a path out of poverty.
According to Friends of Puerto Rico, more than half of Puerto Rican children come from homes with no stable employment. An alarming 84% of Puerto Rican youth live in poverty. The True Inspirations Awards grant will give Friends of Puerto Rico the means to extend SEEDS to more at-risk youth in 2024.
“It is an absolute honor to celebrate the 10th year of the Chick-fil-A True Inspiration Awards by expanding this initiative to Puerto Rico,” says Brent Fielder, senior director of corporate social responsibility for Chick-fil-A, Inc. “These two nonprofits address critical needs on the island, and both exemplify how organizations can transform lives by providing support and resources for youth in their communities.”
You can read more here about the history of Chick-fil-A’s True Inspiration Awards grant program and other remarkable nonprofits who earned recognition this year here.
Two nonprofits granted a collective $275K to continue high-impact work
Every year, nonprofits throughout the communities served by Chick-fil-A® restaurants eagerly await the outcome of our True Inspiration Awards® program. Started in 2015, these annual grants by Chick-fil-A, Inc. recognize local efforts by organizations to care for communities, people or our planet.
For the first time this year, we’re pleased to announce two winners in Puerto Rico.
Feeding those in need
Banco de Alimentos de Puerto Rico Inc., an affiliate of Feeding America, received $200,000 to expand its Mochila Alegre (Happy Backpack) initiative. Through this program, over 1,200 food-insecure children receive weekend and vacation meals, so they don’t go hungry when school is not in session. The outreach impacts 31 of Puerto Rico’s 78 municipalities.
According to Banco de Alimentos de Puerto Rico Inc., more than half of Puerto Rican children face hunger and one in three experience extreme poverty. The devastation of Hurricane Maria, recent earthquakes and various social issues have exacerbated poverty in the area.
• Recipients of the program, between the ages of 3 and 12, are identified by school social workers.
• Each child receives a weekly backpack with the ingredients for seven easy-to-prepare meals and four snacks.
• Teachers ensure that these backpacks are issued discretely every Friday.
The Mochila Alegre program is critically important since Puerto Rico does not receive the same level of federal support as U.S. mainland states. Through the True Inspiration Awards grant, the organization will extend the reach of its program to 100 more recipients in municipalities that were not served previously.
Encouraging youth entrepreneurship
The second True Inspiration Awards grant in Puerto Rico was awarded to Friends of Puerto Rico. The organization received $75,000 for their SEEDS after-school initiative, which encourages student entrepreneurship, financial literacy and business readiness among at-risk youth.
• Now in its fifth year, the SEEDS program teaches young people identified with high economic needs how to start a business from the ground-up.
• Students tackle real-world business problems and engage with business leaders from on and off the island.
• As part of the training, these young people sell products they create—often gourmet food or artisanal merchandise –through SEEDs marketplaces.
• Any proceeds they earn go back to each student and their families in an effort to encourage a path out of poverty.
According to Friends of Puerto Rico, more than half of Puerto Rican children come from homes with no stable employment. An alarming 84% of Puerto Rican youth live in poverty. The True Inspirations Awards grant will give Friends of Puerto Rico the means to extend SEEDS to more at-risk youth in 2024.
“It is an absolute honor to celebrate the 10th year of the Chick-fil-A True Inspiration Awards by expanding this initiative to Puerto Rico,” says Brent Fielder, senior director of corporate social responsibility for Chick-fil-A, Inc. “These two nonprofits address critical needs on the island, and both exemplify how organizations can transform lives by providing support and resources for youth in their communities.”
You can read more here about the history of Chick-fil-A’s True Inspiration Awards grant program and other remarkable nonprofits who earned recognition this year here.
