KHOU 11 Telethon: Partnering with Houston Food Bank for Backpack Buddy Program

Backpack Buddy Program Overview

• 🎯 The Backpack Buddy program aims to provide healthy food for students to take home over the weekends.
• ⚠️ Without school meals, approximately one in five children in the Houston area goes home to empty pantries.

Telethon Efforts and Progress

• 📞 KHOU 11 is hosting a telethon in partnership with the Houston Food Bank to support the program.
• 💰 As of 6 p.m., viewers and sponsors had raised over $50,000, with a goal to keep donations coming.
• 📈 Volunteers are actively taking calls, and the phones continue to ring, with nearly $39,000 raised at one point.

Sponsor Contributions and Impact

• 🍞 Mrs. Baird's is a key sponsor, with a long history of community support spanning 117 years.
• 🤝 Mrs. Baird's donated over 175,000 loaves of fresh bread statewide in June, including 26,000 for the Houston Food Bank.
• 💰 A donation of just $1 provides three meals for a child over the weekend.

Houston Food Bank's Role

• 🤝 The Houston Food Bank, through the Backpack Buddy program, distributed about 192,000 green bags last school year.
• 📊 This initiative significantly impacts children who are food insecure in the Houston area.

How to Help

• 💻 Viewers can donate by calling 713-654-1111 or by pointing their phone camera to the QR code on screen.
• 🌟 Every dollar donated contributes to ensuring no child goes hungry this school year.