This past Saturday, hundreds of volunteers gathered at a Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida Clubhouse with one big goal: pack 100,000 meals for local families facing food insecurity.
The event, held in partnership with U.S. Hunger, brought together corporate teams, students, community organizations, and individual volunteers—including members of the STEM Gift Drive team. With a UCF DJ energizing the room with a fantastic multigenerational, multicultural soundtrack, volunteers worked side by side at packing stations turning small collaborative movements into major community impact.
For Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida, addressing hunger is closely connected to helping young people succeed.
According to BGCCF, 88% of its Club members qualify for free or reduced-price school lunch, and the organization serves more than 31,000 healthy meals at its Clubs each month. From nutritious snacks and meals during the school year to helping bridge the gap when school-based meal programs are unavailable during the summer, consistent access to food is an important part of helping members learn, grow, and thrive.
This matters to us.
The STEM Gift Drive is proud to support BGCCF’s STEM programming by helping put educational toys, games, books, and other resources into the hands of young people. But STEM programming is only one part of what Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida provides.
Young people need safe places. They need mentors, opportunities, encouragement, and community. They also need the basics that allow them to focus on everything else—including enough to eat.
That is why we were proud to show up alongside so many other volunteers for the 100,000 Meal Pack.
Building the next generation of scientists, engineers, creators, and problem-solvers takes more than STEM resources.
Future innovators need fuel, too.
