Giving to EBCAP on 401 Gives Helps Keep Kids Nourished

East Bay Community Action Program (EBCAP) will participate in the United Way of Rhode Island’s Fourth Annual “401Gives,” a statewide day of giving that encourages all Rhode Islanders to support the efforts of more than 500 local nonprofits. Since April 1 falls on a Saturday this year, the event is being dubbed “401 Gives, the Weekend Edition,” and donations will be accepted from March 31 – April 3.

Like previous years, all funds raised through EBCAP’s “401Gives” platform will benefit the Newport Family and Child Opportunity Zone’s (NFCOZ) Backpack Feeding Program. Each week this program provides eligible Newport and Middletown students with bags of food to take home on weekends when food can be scarce for families.

“This program is such an important resource,” states Christine Arouth, Director of NFCOZ. “We are helping families as food costs have skyrocketed and many are still recovering financially from the pandemic. Working in partnership with the community and the school district, NFCOZ utilizes the Backpack Feeding Program to quickly get food to families in need,” she adds.

According to Arouth, the number of students served and the number of weeks the Backpack Feeding Program can operate are fully dependent on the ability to leverage funding each year. “Due to the generosity of the community last year, we were able to start the program in September this year and will be able to serve students for 35 weeks of the school year, plus 6 weeks in the summer, for a total of 41 weeks. The Backpack Feeding Program provides 125 students with weekly food bags for the entire school year and an additional 100 students will receive food bags for six weeks during the summer,” states Arouth.

EBCAP’s “401Gives” campaign starts at 6:00 a.m. on Friday, March 31 and community members will have until 6:00 p.m. on Monday, April 3 to make donations. Visit www.ebcap.org and click on the “401 Gives” link at the top of the page for more details, including information on how donors can become Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Champions and use social media to reach out to friends, families, colleagues, and neighbors to generate more donations.
East Bay Community Action Program is a private, non-profit 501 (c) (3) corporation that provides a wide array of health and human services to the residents of Rhode Island’s East Bay, including the municipalities of East Providence, Barrington, Warren, Bristol, Little Compton, Tiverton, Portsmouth, Middletown, Newport, and Jamestown. For more information regarding programs and services, please visit www.ebcap.org.