Hello Friends, Big news! A Simple Gesture is turning nine years old, and we're throwing a birthday party — will you help us celebrate?

We're having cupcakes, live music, door prizes, surprises, and fun with friends! If you're able to make a gift, all funds raised that day will go toward our school-based SHARE program. Every Guilford County School has a SHARE refrigerator — making GCS the first school district in the nation to have district-wide SHARE fridges! Students place any unopened cafeteria food (carton of milk, pack of carrots) in the SHARE refrigerator for any other student to take, no questions asked. Scroll down to read about the creative and impactful way one local school is using its SHARE fridge! We sure hope to see you at our birthday party on Thursday, August 15. Thanks to our kind, generous, and caring community (that's YOU!), we have a lot to celebrate!

PS: We recently met the creator of a new documentary about hunger in North Carolina. Hunger, With Dignity, is a 27-minute video and well worth a watch. Click here.

Target Circle: We're in the Running for a Grant from Target! A Simple Gesture is honored and excited to be chosen to participate in Target's charitable giving campaign. If you're a member of the FREE Target Circle loyalty program, you can help direct a portion of Target's donation to us! Here's what to do: 1. Set your store to the 28314 zip code. (Why? There's a little glitch in the Target geographical boundaries, but it just takes a few seconds to fix!) 2. Tap on Target Circle and select Vote for Nonprofits or Community Support Votes. 3. Cast your votes for A Simple Gesture! (Don't forget to change your store back to your local Target.) Hurry and submit your votes, because this round closes on June 30. Plus ask your friends and family to vote for us too. They don't have to live in Guilford County to vote, and many have votes saved up that they don't even realize they have. Thank you so much, we'll keep you posted on the results!

I'm ready to vote for ASG. Take me to Target Circle!

Coming Up: Summertime Events Around the Triad A Simple Gesture will be at Farmer's Markets, summer concerts, and more! If you can, please sign up to help with one or more of these events. Students are eligible for service hours!

Yes, I can help!

News from Food Recovery: New Partners, New Outreach A Simple Gesture is now picking up food at four more Harris Teeter locations and delivering the recovered food to local nonprofits serving meals to clients or to the community. We've also added two new partners that will receive food: Mustard Seed and W. D. Mohammed Islamic Center. We're grateful for new opportunities to get food to those who need it! In other news, come see us at the Piedmont Triad Farmer's Market on Friday, June 21, and Friday, August 2. We'll have educational activities about food waste and a pop-up fresh food drive. We'd love to see you there!

SHARE Fridge Update: How One School Makes the Most of Its Fridge SHARE looks different in every school you visit. This flexibility is one of the hallmarks of our program! One beautiful example of a successful SHARE operation is at High Point Central High School. The school social worker and the school resource officer have offices side by side, and the SHARE refrigerator sits between their office doors. During class changes the SRO shares snacks with students, while the social worker makes sure any pregnant students get extra nutrition. This simple act of sharing food builds relationships, develops strong community bonds, and helps ensure adequate nutrition for those who are pregnant and for their developing babies. An added bonus is that none of this food is tossed into the landfill!

Service Learning: Earn Hours This Summer! Many local students need service hours. Volunteering with A Simple Gesture is a great way to earn those hours! Our biggest need is volunteer drivers to pick up green bags. Students who have their driver's license can sign up to help with pickups. Students who don't have their licenses can still earn hours by picking up food with a parent, sibling, or friend. The next pickups are: Saturday, June 8: Greensboro area and High Point area (both currently are full but you can still sign up as a backup driver in case someone has to drop out) Saturday, June 22: Guilford County (currently full but you can still sign up as a backup) Saturday, July 13: East Greensboro (lots more drivers needed!) Saturday, July 27: Guilford County (lots more drivers needed!) Saturday, August 10: Greensboro area and High Point area (lots more drivers needed!) Saturday, August 24: Guilford County (lots more drivers needed!) Our signup sheets are posted through the end of 2024, so go ahead and sign up now! Click here.

Adding Expertise: New Board Members A Simple Gesture is thrilled to welcome two new members to our Board of Directors. Tonia Vaughn has worked closely with A Simple Gesture for many years on the financial side and is Chief Financial Officer at Starmount Forest Country Club. The Rev. Stephen Fearing, Pastor at Guilford Park Presbyterian Church, is a strong proponent of neighbors helping neighbors to create unity in a divisive world. We're happy to have both Tonia and Stephen's talents and expertise in guiding A Simple Gesture's growth!

Sending extra-special thank-yous to: Tri-City Christian Academy for filling their green bags! Walmart Stores #5320 on West Elmsley, Greensboro, and #3658 on Pyramids Village Blvd., Greensboro, for grant awards. Costco, for a generous gift card to use in purchasing food for partner food pantries. Hartley Drive YMCA, Marsh McLennan, NAPA Auto Parts (Gallimore Dairy Rd., High Point), the Loaded Grape, and The Crowne at James Landing for hosting incredible food drives. Southwest Elementary and High Point Friends School for organizing fun and amazing cereal dominoes in support of local food pantries.

Jewish Family Services for prepping green bags and writing thank-you notes as part of their first annual Yom Tikkun Olam day of service. The GOFAR Program for donating their extra runners' snacks (granola bars, apples, and bananas) to ASG Food Recovery after their spring race. The Ortmann family for planning their annual Love All tennis tournament, which includes a food collection for ASG. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate this year but we truly appreciate their hard work!

Lincoln Financial Group for hosting an amazing food donor signup drive at their company picnic and their outing to a Grasshoppers game. Plain & Fancy Caterers, for their commitment to food recovery and for once again donating excess food from their spring High Point Furniture Market events.

Weaver Academy, for collecting 320 pounds of food that went to BackPack Beginnings. YOU, for filling a green bag, doing food recovery, volunteering to drive, sorting food as it's delivered, making a financial gift, liking our social media, decreasing food waste at home, and telling your neighbors about A Simple Gesture. Thank you for being part of the ASG community!

From Our Sustainers: Be a Hero for Hunger  "I make a monthly donation in honor of my wife. She starting filling our green bag many years ago. Now I carry on that legacy through a monthly financial gift. She loved being part of A Simple Gesture, and I do too!" — Anonymous financial donor Thank you to this donor and to all of our monthly sustainers. A gift in any amount — $5, $10, $20, $50, $100 — each month is a huge help to us. Learn more about monthly giving at asimplegesturegso.org/donate.

Don't forget to vote!

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