Announcing the 2022 Giving Tuesday Grant Contest Winners

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The results are in!

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / December 1, 2022 / FedEx Cares is excited to announce the winning nonprofits of the 2022 Giving Tuesday Grant Contest. We received more than 600 heartwarming nominations from team members across the U.S.

The best way to share the impact these wonderful organizations have in their communities is to hear directly from the team members who nominated them.

Congratulations to these nonprofits and to all our team members who commit to do good in their communities every day!

1st Place

Puppies Behind Bars
New York, New York
$25,000 grant recipient
Nominated by: Kassie Ryder

I am nominating Puppies Behind Bars because of my love for animals, especially dogs, and because of the work they do for not only the dogs but for the first responders, veterans, and inmates. These puppies provide the inmates a purpose and give them skills they can use after incarceration.

Their program Dog Tags: Service Dogs for Those Who've Served Us trains prisoners to live with and train dogs to support vets with physical and mental injuries.

When a puppy is assigned to an inmate trainer, the puppy lives with their trainer in prison while they are trained to become service dogs. As the puppies mature into well-loved, well-behaved dogs, their raisers learn what it means to contribute to society. It's a way for those who didn't make good decisions in their life to give back to those who serve and protect us.

Once the dogs are ready for their new owners, the organization brings the vet to train with the dog and prison dog trainer for fourteen days. They will leave the training with their own service dog and be fully certified as service dog handlers. Puppies Behind Bars pays for all transportation, hotels, and food for the vets during their training.

This organization also does not stop once the vet has their dog. Puppies Behind Bars follows up with all vets and their service dogs for five years and continue to provide resources, support, advice, and feedback to ensure they have found the right match.

This organization has worked to improve the lives of three groups: veterans, dogs, and prisoners. Too often, each of these groups is ignored and treated poorly.

2nd Place

House of Bread
Dayton, Ohio
$15,000 grant recipient
Nominated by: Kim Hyrne

The House of Bread serves a hot, nutritious, lunchtime meal to anyone in need, 365 days a year.

While working with the Executive Director, Melodie Bennett, FedEx Ground Station 454 volunteered several hundred hours of in person labor. We were sous chefs, we baked, we organized donations in their pantry, and served the guests a nutritious meal. Upon completion of the hot meal, we mopped and cleaned the dining hall.

This nonprofit works every day of the year, providing a meal regardless of weather, to anyone that enters its door. Their mission is to prevent hunger and serve as a bridge to beneficial community resources. Opening its doors in 1983, through staff and volunteers, they serve a meal in two dining rooms, one being specifically for families and children.

They don't believe in duplicating programs or resources offered by other social service agencies in Dayton; therefore, House of Bread offers referrals and assistance in accessing needed resources for their guests.

During one of these visits, a FedEx volunteer while serving the guests looked up and saw her brother, whom she had not seen in years, in line for a meal. Their unexpected reunion was emotional for all of us that day. A volunteer opportunity turned into a family reunion. There wasn't a dry eye.

3rd Place

Foster Love Project
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
$10,000 grant recipient
Nominated by: Ray Pleva, Jr.

My wife and I have been therapeutic foster parents since the outset of the pandemic. We've had numerous children come through our house, and when they show up, they come with nothing - usually a bagful of hand me down clothes that generally no longer fit or should be worn.

It is my wife's and my mission to have the children leave our home improved and better physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, etc. than they arrived, knowing love like they may not have experienced it before. Our first call is to get an appointment with Foster Love Project, as they allow these children to take a buggy, shop for items they get to select, fill it up with "new" (lightly used) clothes, shoes, bedding, hygienic items, toys, books, etc.

Our current foster daughter even received a brand-new bike which she had never had before (13 years old). We have had our kids shop here and receive clothing and other items (absolutely free of charge) nearly a half dozen times. The children can come back every three months, which is amazing as most of these kids have never had more than one bag (usually a kitchen sized garbage bag) of dirty old clothes when they arrive.

The work Foster Love Project is doing is amazing, kind, and so necessary with thousands and thousands of kids needing a home just in Pennsylvania. I heard on a podcast that the founder is working to try to roll her model out to other areas across our country which would be amazing nationally. This organization shares love and helps foster children and foster parents, an often overlooked and unfortunately growing segment of our population.