This International Day of Friendship, We Thank Some of Our Best Friends — Our Volunteers!

The International Day of Friendship is celebrated each year on July 30 to spotlight some of the most important people in our lives: our friends! At Rise Against Hunger, friends are found in many places — through our impact partners, donors and beneficiaries, but one of the most important friendships we have are the ones with our volunteers.

Since 1998, we’ve relied on friendships to impact people around the globe who are affected by hunger and food insecurity. Our volunteers are solely responsible for ensuring the meals are packaged, which make them some of the greatest friends of Rise Against Hunger. After packaging, we find friends globally through our impact partners to distribute the meals to beneficiaries who need them most.

Most of our volunteer groups come to Rise Against Hunger as friends, but one of the most exciting things to see are the groups that come as strangers and leave as friends. Rise Against Hunger Experience events bring people of all ages and backgrounds together with one common goal: to make an impact on ending hunger.

There is something uniquely powerful about joining hands with a group of people you might have never met to make a hands-on impact. At Rise Against Hunger, we’ve witnessed Experience events bring together strangers, build strong teams and even repair relationships. It’s almost impossible to leave after hours of packaging meals without the feeling that you’ve created a friendship with not only the people in the room but the beneficiaries who will receive the meals you’ve packaged.

This International Day of Friendship, we encourage you to grab a friend and volunteer with us. If you’ve already attended or hosted a Rise Against Hunger Experience event or have supported our mission to end hunger in this lifetime, we thank you for being a great friend.