When RiceTec launched its newest charitable program, Harvesting Hope, the company had no idea it would be amid a time that nonprofits would be struggling to raise funds to achieve their missions.
Under the program, RiceTec customers who donated 1 acre of milled rice proceeds to their choice of a 501(c)3 nonprofit received one bag of seed at no charge for the 2021 planting season. In total, 27 growers gave more than $43,000 to their favorite charities.
For nonprofits like Personal Pep Rally, this donation meant covering half the cost of their Joy Mail Program.
“When someone agrees to partner with your passions, it is a real honor,” said Misti Coker, board member for Personal Pep Rally. “Our volunteers put in many hours to meet our mission and donations from supporters like RiceTec make it possible for that work to be done.”
Personal Pep Rally is an Arkansas-based nonprofit designed to motivate, encourage and educate those with a cancer diagnosis. They fulfill the mental health piece of a patient’s cancer journey by serving as a resource for patient education, providing access to counseling and having a scholarship program.
Their unique Joy Mail sends care packages and uplifting support letters written by cancer survivors to current cancer patients not only in Arkansas but across the United States and Canada.
“We’re excited to see the success of this new program,” said Matt Snow, RiceTec district sales manager. “We stepped outside of our traditional community outreach efforts to try something new that would involve our grower’s favorite charities, and this proved to meet community needs and create connections across our various service regions.”
Additional charities that received funds included Aeroangel, Arkansas Baptist Foundation, CASA of Jonesboro, Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas, Food Bank of Northeast Louisiana, Hunting for a Cure: the Price Hancock Foundation, Make A Wish, St. Jude and Wounded Warrior Project.
“In a time when the Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas is distributing more food than ever before, RiceTec came to us with donations from their Harvesting Hope program and helped us to provide 16,000 meals to people facing hunger in our community,” added Rebecca Hendrix, chief development officer at the Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas.