This past August, Ghirardelli held the inaugural Pie the Leader fundraiser to support homeless youth!
For three weeks, Associates donated funds to vote for the Ghirardelli leader they wanted to see get a pie in the face. At the end, Associates joined a live auction to vote for the leader they wanted to see get a pie-ing. The fundraiser was a great success, as Ghirardelli Associates raised a grand total of $5,750 dollars!
All proceeds from the fundraiser went to the Marysville Joint Unified School District Homeless Education Program—and they are already putting the funds to good use! The Marysville Joint Unified School District’s Homeless Education Program (MJUSD) functions as an advocate for homeless children and youth and their families. The organization works with school sites to protect the educational rights of over 10,000 students experiencing homelessness allowing them to enroll in, attend, and succeed in school.
MJUSD enrolls students in the free lunch program, arranges for home to school transportation, and connects families with school programs—preschool, English learners, special education, Title I services, career technical education, and after school programs. The organization also refers families to community health, mental health, dental, and other health and welfare services.
So far, the proceeds from the Ghirardelli Pie the Leader Fundraiser provided over $3,000 dollars’ worth of groceries to the Yuba County homeless students in need, in addition to coats to help the children stay warm during the winter months. A few of our Associates personally volunteered to help deliver these boxes of groceries and care items to the homeless children who are a part of the MJUSD program.
A huge thank you goes to all Associates who donated, volunteered, and participated in the Pie the Leader Fundraiser—we couldn’t have done it without you!
