“When Bradley decided for his 11^th birthday that he preferred to raise money for a good cause in lieu of birthday gifts, it was not a huge shock to me or his father. He has always been a caring and compassionate child.

When Bradley was younger, he had a friend whose family was going through financial trouble. There would be afternoons where his friend would come over and hadn’t had a bite to eat all day. His friend’s situation made a profound impact on Bradley. After giving it some thought, No Kid Hungry seemed like the perfect organization to focus his fundraising efforts towards.

He shared his story and birthday wish with friends and family and the donations quickly started to accumulate.  People were astonished that an 11 year old would not only be willing to have people donate money to a charity in lieu of birthday gifts but actually be excited about giving back to others. Friends were sharing Bradley’s fundraising page link on their social media sites to help spread the word about what he was doing and his goal.

Bradley’s initial goal was to raise $300 but thanks to everyone’s generosity and excitement, Bradley was able to raise over $800 himself.   My employer made an additional $500 matching donation bringing his total to $1,340!

When asked what he would say to others when thinking about donating their birthday to No Kid Hungry, Bradley said “Imagine if someone you loved didn’t have any food. Wouldn’t you want someone to help you?” “

-          Stephanie Wadas, Bradley’s mom

Good friends Ian Martinez and Candace Faber met while working for the federal government in Washington, DC. After both moving to Seattle for professional reasons, they noticed that while the concern for one's neighbor is certainly just as strong as anywhere else, the fluency with which people discuss problems and solutions in terms of policies, economic conditions, and systemic approaches is much more limited. So Candace started a dinner series to discuss policy issues among friends and colleagues. Ian was specifically excited to co-host a hunger and food security-themed dinner. 

Enter friends Maggie Orth and Josh Smith who opened their home as hosts for the evening, and Suhashini Nijhowne, a talented young chef and caterer in Seattle, who volunteered not only her considerable talent, but her time, tracking down and buying the ingredients for under $10 per person, prepping, and then cooking the meals. The group’s goal was to show that with a little education and help on the issue, it is possible to eat a fantastic meal at low cost. Finally, they invited Raquel De Hoyos of Solid Ground, Share Our Strength’s lead Cooking Matters partner in Seattle. Between a fantastic Butternut & acorn squash soup and a tasty Moroccan kefta tagine, she filled attendees in on how they could become involved with Cooking Matters and carry the good feelings from the event forward into action. And guests were encouraged to make a donation to No Kid Hungry that night. The event raised $1,336!

“Bringing everyone together for fantastic discussion, great food and a tangible positive outcome was the highlight for me.  A few of the attendees are already discussing ways we can duplicate this on a larger scale,” says Ian.

"Earlier this year, I led my restaurant team in a Spartan Race to team build and raise money for No Kid Hungry. Everyone in our restaurant works out, which is a little unique. The race was something we could do that was fun for team building and a good cause. Together we raised $6,274! The online fundraising tools were awesome — perfect and easy to set up. And easy for people to get to. The process was really "dummy proof": easy for us and easy for people who wanted to contribute. We also fundraised in our restaurant. During our Friday and Saturday staff line ups, we had updates to show who was raising the most money. We added a line item on our checks to encourage guests to contribute. I would say 90% of guests did add something. We encouraged staff with weekly wine prizes and our ultimate prize went to Brian Teague, who raised more than $1,000 himself. We treated Brian to a huge wine tasting with one of our wine distributors at a steak house. We all went out together and ate like kings. It was rewarding to raise money with our guests and staff rallying around it. The Finish Line was my favorite moment and the photo of our team says it all. 2014 is already locked down. Our team is just going to grow, which means our fundraising for No Kid Hungry will grow. Restaurant guests are joining in the Spartan Race with us next year — it's infectious!"

— Jason Raymond, the General Manager of Seed Kitchen & Bar in Marietta, Georgia

On June 16th, Dovetail Software and Dice.com hosted a kickball game to raise funds for No Kid Hungry at the SHRM 2013 Annual Conference. Each player was challenged to raise $100 and use their social media networks to spread the word. Many wrote blogs and tweeted and most surpassed their goals. The event raised more than $10,000 before game day! Watch these video recaps to learn more about how they did it:

"Choosing to run for No Kid Hungry was an obvious choice for me. As a Dad, Chef and School Food Service Director feeding kids is a passion of mine. To see a child suffer because of lack of access to food is absolutely unacceptable. Working together with Share Our Strength and the No Kid Hungry campaign we can and WILL make a difference. Since I have been an active volunteer with Share Our Strength for four plus years the reaction from family and friends was happy to see me devote so much of my personal and professional time to a cause I truly believe in. (Tim signed up to run the New York City Rock 'n Roll 10K in October 2012 to raise funds for No Kid Hungry and raised more than $2,300.) Creating a fundraising event for No Kid Hungry can be as simple as selling lemonade in front of your house and setting up a fundraising page. It's a simple yet very effective process that ties in nicely with social media."

— Chef Tim Cipriano