Food Bank of the Rockies, Former Broncos Star Karl Mecklenburg and Empower Retirement team up to feed hungry school kids
GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo., Oct. 21, 2016 — A new collaboration between the Food Bank of the Rockies, a former Denver Broncos star and Empower Retirement will seek to assure that some metro Denver school kids have enough to eat during the school year.
The program, known as “Totes for Hope®,” is aimed at providing nutritious meals for students on weekends while they are not in school and might not otherwise have enough to eat. Empower is providing funding to feed 500 low-income children at five schools in the Denver area every weekend during the 2016-17 school year.
Every Friday, the “Totes for Hope®,” program provides children with a take-home tote bag filled with several pounds of nutritious food items. For many of these children, the totes are their main source of food on Saturday and Sunday. The program was established by Food Bank of the Rockies in 2006 and provides more than 228,000 totes annually to students in metro Denver.
The new collaboration, which kicks off on Friday, Oct. 21, includes the leadership of former Denver Broncos linebacker Karl Mecklenburg who will join Empower Retirement volunteers to pack and distribute the totes and help raise awareness of the program throughout the year.
“There’s nothing more heartbreaking than knowing that good kids in our community don’t have enough to eat,” said Mecklenburg, who uses his star power to support numerous community programs in Colorado. “It’s commendable that organizations like Food Bank of the Rockies and Empower Retirement can collaborate to address this problem and help give these kids the food they need.”
“We are excited and grateful to partner with Empower and Karl Mecklenburg to feed more children this school year. Nearly 1 in 4 Colorado kids lives in a household where they may not always have enough to eat. This generous contribution will provide hope to these children and their families and help them thrive,” said Kevin Seggelke, President and CEO, Food Bank of the Rockies.
“It’s unacceptable that childhood hunger is still prevalent in our community and we need to join forces to help stop it,” said Empower President Edmund F. Murphy III. “We are proud to partner with Karl and Food Bank of the Rockies to lend a hand.”
Empower, the nation’s second-largest retirement services provider, is a sponsor of three NFL teams including the Denver Broncos, New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs. The collaboration with the “Totes for Hope” program is one of a series of charitable outreaches Empower Retirement has made in 2016 aligned with its NFL sponsorships.
About Food Bank of the Rockies
Food Bank of the Rockies, a non-profit organization, distributed nearly 60 million meals last year through our direct service programs and partner agencies, serving clients in Northern Colorado, including Metro Denver, and the entire state of Wyoming. 1 in 7 Coloradans, including nearly 1 in 4 Colorado children, struggle with hunger. Since 1978, FBR has provided more than 566 million meals to people in need in our community. Food Bank of the Rockies is a member of Feeding America. For additional information, please visit www.foodbankrockies.org. “Like” FBR on Facebook and Instagram, follow us on Twitter and subscribe to our blog!
About Karl Mecklenburg
Keynote speaker and former Denver Broncos Captain Karl Mecklenburg has a long standing commitment to Colorado Charities. Through the years he has worked with the For Mercy Sake Sackem program, Paralympic Athletes, Karl Mecklenburg's Reach Foundation, Grassroots Aspen Experience, Colorado Youth Outdoors, and Taste of the NFL. Mecklenburg is pleased to join Empower Retirement and Food Bank of the Rockies making a difference here in Colorado.
About Empower Retirement
Headquartered in metro Denver, Empower Retirement administers $440 billion in assets for 8 million participants. It is the nation’s second-largest retirement plan record keeper by total participants (Pensions & Investments, April, 2016). Empower serves all segments of the employer-sponsored retirement plan market: government 457 plans, small, midsize, and large corporate 401(k) clients, non-profit 403(b) entities and private-label recordkeeping clients. For more information, please visit www.Empower-retirement.com.
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