So easy to make a difference

Child hunger in Brevard County has reached community-concerning levels. The number of children in the county’s free and reduced-price meal program exceeds 50% and some elementary schools have 80% or more of their students enrolled. For many, lunch on Friday is the last regular meal they will receive until the following Monday morning when they have access to breakfast at school.

If it weren’t for The Children’s Hunger Project, those students would go over two days without a decent meal and arrive to school after each weekend malnourished. Studies show that children who have little or no food over the weekend return to school with less ability to concentrate and learn, and they suffer from more physical and mental health issues.

Founded in 2010 to address the issue of child hunger in Brevard County, The Children’s Hunger Project provides meals to over 2,000 children in 45 elementary schools. However, there are over 1,000 more who need these meals, and sadly that number is steadily growing.

The charitable organization relies on monetary donations to purchase the food, which is packed weekly by volunteers at the organization’s warehouse next to Cocoa Hyundai, which donated what was once a former automobile display and sales office. Once delivered to the schools, teachers and guidance counselors select and distribute the meal packages to those children deemed most at risk of going hungry.

Though Brevard’s residents and businesses are giving generously, the need for more funding has led the organization to look for other ways it could generate a steady stream of additional income. They found it in a company called Dlyted. And the best part of this new partnership is that supporters can donate every day and it doesn’t cost them anything to give. Yes, you read that right!

A New Way to Raise Money

Dlyted is a national philanthropic company that sells electronic or “eGift” cards for over 500 national and regional brands, including the best-known home improvement and department stores, restaurants, online stores and even airlines and cruise lines.

When a supporter purchases a gift card on Dlyted’s website or through its mobile app, they receive its full-face value and a percentage of the card’s value, from 2% to 30%, is automatically donated by the merchant to the cause of the supporter’s choosing. In this case, The Children’s Hunger Project. As each gift card is purchased, it is immediately emailed — or downloaded and stored on their Dlyted app — to use as needed.

“Our partnership with Dlyted is allowing us to raise more money and feed more kids, and it doesn’t cost our supporters anything to give. They just change one way they make everyday purchases,” said The Children’s Hunger Project Executive Director Keith Gee. “Dlyted is an incredible platform and it’s so easy to use that our supporters are making it part of their daily routine, and that means an increased and consistent stream of new income that helps us feed a growing number of children each weekend.”

Holiday Season a Time to Give

This holiday season, millions of gift cards will be purchased. Now, those can truly be “gift” cards as each will mean a donation to either The Children’s Hunger Project or the cause of the purchaser’s choice. With peak shopping days including Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday, there is no shortage of opportunities to score great deals at brick-and-mortar locations or online and support a worthy cause.

Any cause can register on Dlyted. Several in Brevard have also joined to raise additional money for their missions. These include human service organizations, religious institutions and even special-interest clubs and associations. If they raise money, Dlyted can help them raise even more.

It costs nothing to become a Dlyted cause and there are no handling or processing fees; the cause receives the full amount of each donation, along with real-time information about the supporters who contributed so they can thank them and encourage their continued use of the platform.

Dlyted’s Goal: $1 Billion to Causes

Dlyted’s CEO Barry Shore founded the company to help causes across the U.S. raise money to carry out their important missions and has a goal to facilitate the giving of $1 billion in the next five years.

“Our mission is to make everyday giving effortless,” Shore said. “The beauty of Dlyted is in its simplicity and the immediate impact it can have on a cause’s revenue. With just a couple of clicks, the Dlyted user purchases a gift card and the donation is automatically made to the cause they select to support. And it doesn’t cost them a penny to give.”

Anyone 18 years and older can join Dlyted. No credit/debit card or purchase is necessary to register and select a cause to support. To kick off their relationship, Dlyted will donate $0.50 to The Children’s Hunger Project on behalf of each of the first 1,000 people who register and select the organization as their cause at www.dlyted.com/hungerproject.

Learn more

For more information about The Children’s Hunger Project and their mission to feed Brevard’s hungry kids, visit www.TheChildrensHungerProject.org or call (321) 610-1900. To learn more about Dlyted and how it helps causes throughout the U.S., visit www.Dlyted.com.