Japan Donation
Who could forget the horrific news about the earthquake in Japan? This past Spring, Japan was ravaged by one of the worst disasters in history. All of us at Once Again were moved with compassion. We donated 1 pallet of peanut butter, (which is 1260 jars) and pledge to donate another pallet in a few months. Special thanks to the Alishan Company for helping us with all the international logistics.
Tornado Relief
Last week, Once Again donated 4 pallets of peanut butter, which was 5,040 jars to tornado victims in Alabama. The donation went to the Red Cross for appropriate distribution.
Hope Lunches, Open Door Mission and Food Link
Once Again donated 30 cases of peanut butter to Dansville’s Hope Lunches, which is a feeding program helping those locally. In addition, Once Again donated 55 cases of peanut butter to the Open Door Mission a homeless shelter in Rochester, NY. The company also donated 30 cases of Tahini to Food Link which is a charity that redistributes food to those in need.
Once Again Provides Funds for a Vision-Saving Project Farm work is one of the most dangerous professions. Farming puts workers at risk of serious illnesses and injuries, many of which can be prevented through education and information. Farmworker Legal Services of New York, Inc. ( FLSNY) received a grant from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to provide outreach to farm workers and disseminate information and conduct training. FLSNY first conducted a needs assessment so that the training would target the safety issues faced by the farm workers in Monroe and Livingston Counties. What was learned during this process is that eye health and safety represent a severe risk for farm workers. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration reports that 90% of eye injuries and symptoms can be prevented by proper use of eye protection. However, studies have shown that a very low percentage of farm workers use eye protection. Farm Worker Legal Services of New York developed eye health and safety training to help farm workers recognize the risk and strategies to prevent eye injuries and health risks. The farm workers participating in the trainings talked about their experiences and it was clear that every farm worker had experienced some eye injury or had witnessed a serious injury or illness. When discussing prevention, they reported that even if they worked with caustic chemicals and pesticides they weren’t provided adequate protection. It was then that FLSNY reached out to Once Again Nut Butter. Once Again provided FLSNY with a donation that was used to purchase 120 pairs of glasses that had safety glass and provided 99% UV protection. Each farm worker who participated in the training received the glasses. In follow-up training they were asked if they were using the safety glasses and they said they were. Successful training with appropriate safety equipment equals a vision-saving project!
American Diabetes Association
Tour de Cure
Once Again was a race sponsor at this year’s American Diabetes Association Tour de Cure in Monroe and Livingston Counties. The Tour de Cure is a bicycling tour event where people ask friends and family members to contribute to their bike ride raising money to help combat diabetes. Riders pledge to ride as little as 7 miles and up to 100 miles. Friends and family members as well as companies, come together and form their own bike teams to try and escalate fundraising efforts and provide mutual bike rider support.
As part of the fundraising effort, there were numerous corporate sponsors from all over the Rochester and surrounding areas and even nationally. Cliff Bar, Xerox, Harris, Wegmans, Bausch and Lomb, Exellus, Delphi, Chase, Paychex, Palmer Foods, and Unity Health were just some of the event sponsors. Once Again was also a sponsor for this event. Most of the event sponsors also had put together a corporate challenge to its employees to ride a minimum of 20 miles for the cause. The employees all were part of the fundraising effort for American Diabetes and wore matching jerseys.
Once Again provided nut butters for the 2,000 cycling enthusiasts and product was set up at 10 rest stops along the riders’ journey. In addition, a table of nut butters were sampled and sold at the event; nut butters were also on the lunch menu. Brochures about Once Again were given to all participants and spectators. Once Again had banners displayed at the event and its logo placed on the bike team jersey, the Sprocket Rockets that Gael Orr co-captained with Ivan Ramos. There were 8 people on the bike team and they rode anywhere from 40-78 miles, each depending on their own athletic ability. Everyone had a great time and loved the Once Again Nut Butter products.