As Unpaid Federal Workers and Contractors Seek Food,
Hunger Group Opens National “Fed Food” Hotline and Web Portal
Efforts to Aid Both Employees Needing Food Help and Those Wanting to Volunteer While Furloughed
With increasing numbers of employees of the federal government and federal contractors nationwide forced to seek charitable food after missing a paycheck, Hunger Free America, a national nonprofit group, announced a new “Fed Food” toll-free 800 line and web portal to help anyone affected to locate free food and/or to volunteer their time to fight hunger.
Any employee of the federal government or a federal contractor — or any family member of such an employee — who is struggling financially as a result of the government shutdown, can call the toll free number 855-859-4647 or go to www.HungerFreeAmerica.org/FedFood to find food resources (such as government food programs and private food pantries) near them and/or to be connected with anti-hunger volunteer activities so they can productively utilize their time off work.
The toll-free line will have live operators answering calls Mondays – Fridays, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, and will take messages at other times. The hotline and web portal will be active as long as the shutdown lasts.
Explaining this new effort, Hunger Free America CEO Joel Berg, said: “We want to make sure that anyone harmed by the shutdown can get and/or give help. Last Friday, hundreds of thousands of federal employees affected by the shutdown missed their first paycheck. The lowest paid federal employees — at the GS 3 pay level — have starting salaries of only $23,043. Numerous low-paid employees of federal contractors have also missed paychecks. Given that one in five Americans overall have either zero savings or have debt larger than their savings, it’s clear that low-income federal employees could quickly run out of food after being denied even one paycheck. Many dedicated public servants will need extra help with food. This shutdown vividly demonstrates just how many Americans are only one missed paycheck away from hunger.”
In Ogden, Utah — home to thousands of IRS and U.S. Forest Service workers — Catholic Community Services of Northern Utah waived the income requirements to access its food pantry so that federal workers could utilize it twice a month during the shutdown. In Huntington, West Virginia, employees of the Ashland Federal Corrections Institution have been forced to get food from a local food bank. Coast Guard employees in Key West, Florida have accessed charitable food for the first time.
Continued Berg, “Since most of the federal nutrition assistance programs are now funded through February, we can help federal employees who may now qualify for them to access them while they last. Ironically, some of the employees that administer federal food assistance may be now be eligible to obtain help from such programs. We can also help all federal employees and contract employees locate private charities that provide food help, although food pantries nationwide were overwhelmed before the shutdown, and they only have a limited supply of food, so there is no absolute guarantee that when people contact us for food help and we refer them to a local food program, they will get all the help they need. But if we can help even a little bit, we need to try.”
Berg himself was a federal employee for eight years, working as an appointee at the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 1993 to 2001.
“I know from personal experience that most federal employees are very hard working and highly dedicated to public service,” Berg said. “That’s why we also want to make it easier for them to use their furloughed time to serve the public by performing anti-hunger volunteer service.”
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WATERPARKS
NORTH AMERICAN TOUR
ONE OK ROCK, STAND ATLANTIC
TICKETS ON SALE NOW
FEBRUARY 19 | SALT LAKE CITY, UT | THE DEPOT
JANUARY 9, 2019 - God's favorite boy band, Waterparks, will tour North America with One Ok Rock and Stand Atlantic kicking off February 19th! For a full list of dates, please see below. Tickets can be purchased at: www.waterparksband.com
Last year, the band's most popular release to date, Entertainment, garnered massive buzz from outlets such as Nylon, Billboard, and Alternative Press, as well as a headlining tour last fall. Waterparks also spent the entire summer on the final cross country run of the Vans Warped Tour headlining the main stage. Fans can listen to and watch the music videos for the hit singles "Blonde", "Not Warriors", "Lucky People" and "We Need To Talk". Fans can also stream or purchase the album now through iTunes, Apple Music and Spotify.
Entertainment made an impressive debut on the Billboard Top 200, charting #7 Rock Albums, #5 Indie, #25 Top Current Albums, #18 Digital and #36 Physical. The record was named one of Alternative Press Magazine's Most Anticipated of 2018 and was produced by Benji Madden and Courtney Ballard (All Time Low, 5 Seconds of Summer).
North America Dates
w/ One Ok Rock & Stand Atlantic
February 19 - Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
February 20 - Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre
February 22 - Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity
February 23 - Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
February 24 - Chicago, IL @ House of Blues Chicago
February 26 - Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews Hall
February 28 - Toronto, ON @ Rebel
March 1 - Montreal, QC @ Le National
March 2 - Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
March 3 - Boston, MA @ Paraside
March 5 - New York, NY @ Terminal 5
March 6 - Baltimore, MD @ Rams Head Live
March 8 - Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
March 9 - Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock Live
March 11 - Houston, TX @ House of Blues Houston
March 12 - Dallas, TX @ House of Blues Dallas
March 13 - San Antonio, TX @ Aztec Theater
March 15 - Phoenix, AZ @ Van Buren
March 16 - Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues Las Vegas
March 17 - San Diego, CA @ The Observatory
March 19 - Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium
March 20 - San Francisco, CA @ The Garfield
March 22 - Vancouver, BC @ Vogue
March 24 - Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo
For More Information, please visit:
Website: www.waterparksband.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/waterparks
Twitter: www.twitter.com/waterparks
Instagram: www.instagram.com/waterparks
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Corner Canyon High School raises more than $77,000
for Tyler Robinson Foundation
SALT LAKE CITY (January 14, 2019) – More than 2,000 students at Corner Canyon High School came together to raise $77,526.08 in support of the Tyler Robinson Foundation (TRF), the nonprofit foundation of the GRAMMY Award-winning band Imagine Dragons benefiting children and their families battling pediatric cancer.
Kicking off the fundraising drive as part of December’s season of giving, Corner Canyon students exceeded their goal of raising more than $75,000 in just three weeks. Funds raised by the students will support families battling childhood cancer by providing grants to offset the many unseen costs associated with treatment. Participating as part of TRF’s Youth Ambassador program, students completed “odd jobs” in the community including door-to-door asks, silent auctions, sporting events, student activities and restaurant nights to support the fundraising effort.
TRF has raised more than $7.5 million to support families battling childhood cancer. More than 700 families have benefited from TRF support since the Foundation’s inception in 2013. TRF continues to grow its efforts for families through a number of awareness and fundraising initiatives.
Imagine Dragons launched TRF after meeting Tyler Robinson, an inspiring, Utah-based teen and fan of the band who battled a rare form of childhood cancer. TRF continues Tyler’s legacy and honors his courageous example by reaching out to uplift other children with cancer and the families who support them. TRF’s mission is to support these families financially and emotionally by offsetting out-of-pocket life expenses as they cope with their child’s diagnosis.
For more information, visit TRF.org and follow TRF on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
About The Tyler Robinson Foundation
The Tyler Robinson Foundation (TRF) helps strengthen families financially and emotionally as they cope with the tragedy of a pediatric cancer diagnosis by providing grants specifically to offset out-of-pocket life expenses. TRF is the nonprofit organization of the Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum selling band Imagine Dragons. TRF meets a critical need in communities across the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Each year, one in 285 children are diagnosed with cancer. While many pediatric cancer organizations focus on growing awareness and support for families with the physical and emotional toll of a diagnosis, the huge financial hardship cancer treatment places on families is rarely discussed. More than 85-percent of every dollar TRF raises goes right to families in need. For more information visit TRF.org.
