Media Contact: LaShawn M. White

Media@projectgiveback.org

240-565-5563

***MEDIA ADVISORY***

Project Giveback Hosts The 18th Annual Thanksgiving Food Distributionto
more than 1,000 Families

Founder Ransom Miller
III & Area Volunteers ‘GiveBack’ to the Community

WHAT:            Over500 adult and
grade-school volunteerswill prepare and deliver Thanksgiving grocery
baskets to over1,000 families. Each
basket containstwo weeks’ worth of
food – including Thanksgiving dinner – for families in DC, MD, and VA.
Deliveries will go to individual homes and assisted living homes.

PHOTO OPPS:

• Visuals of volunteers (adults & children)assembling grocery baskets
• Visuals of deliveries and families receiving baskets
• Student volunteers representingHoward University, Georgetown University, Bowie State, Ballou High School Men’s Basketball Team, Girl Scout Troop 6600
• Several fraternities and sororitiesare slated
  as volunteers and sponsors.

WHEN:                        Saturday, November
17, 2012

6:30
AM – Grocery basket assembly begins

10:00 AM – Departure for Delivery and various drop-off points

WHERE:           Columbia Heights
Educational Campus (formerly Bell
Multicultural High School) at3101 16th
St. NW, Washington, D.C.  Deliveries to underserved families and as
well as satellite distribution sites held at various locations in DC, MD, and VA.

WHY:               12% of households in the immediate D.C. area
are struggling with the ability to put food on their tables, a growing number
over the years. With the belief that no family should go hungry, especially on
Thanksgiving Day, Project GiveBack founder, Ransom
Miller III, gathers the community to ‘GiveBack’ for a major impact.

WHO:              DC resident and Howard University graduate Ransom Miller III,
founder,& the Annual Thanksgiving Food Distribution has served thousands of
families in the D.C. Metropolitan area. Support from the organization has also
spread to several communities
around the U.S., including Dallas, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, St. Louis, and Denver.Effective
immediately, Ransom is available for interviews. Volunteers, sponsors,
community leaders are available for interviews on event day.

About Project
GiveBack

Project GiveBack’s mission is to provide a vehicle for corporate
firms and professionals to give back to the communities where they work and
live in by coordinating programs that benefit less fortunate individuals and
families, with a focus on children. It is the intent of the organization to
uplift communities around the United States mentally, spiritually, and
economically. Through its annual Thanksgiving Food Distribution, Project
GiveBack has been able to assist over 3,400 families in the Metropolitan
Washington, DC Area providing the average family with two weeks’ worth of
groceries, including a turkey dinner. Visit www.projectgiveback.com, and follow
us on Twitter at @ProjectGiveBack.

###

18th Annual Thanksgiving Food Distribution Logistics

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Donate Online and Register to volunteer NOW at www.projectgiveback.org

As you begin to finalize your plans for the Thanksgiving holiday, we at Project Giveback hope you will consider spending part of your morning, afternoon or evening with us on Saturday, November 17th, as we prepare, deliver and distribute food baskets to families in the D.C. Metropolitan Area.  This year more than ever, we need your financial and physical support.  You can donate online at http://www.projectgiveback.org/donate/  For corporate sponsorship and partnership opportunities, please email ransom@projectgiveback.org.

Last year, volunteers delivered boxes full of food to over 1,100 families within our local community. We are thankful to those volunteers who have worked with us in years past and hope that Project Giveback will be considered again for your holiday community service efforts.  We also look forward to meeting and working with new volunteers!

Below are this year’s available volunteer shifts, as well as the numbers of persons needed for each shift:

Saturday, November 17, 2012
Bell Multicultural HS, 3101 16th Street, NW, Wash., D.C., 20010

6:30AM-8:30AM – volunteers needed to assemble food baskets (300 volunteers)
10:00AM-1:00PM – volunteers needed to deliver food baskets – maps will be provided (300 volunteers)

Working with us will only take up a small part of your holiday but will have a lasting effect on those benefiting from your efforts, including you!  Project Giveback is a child friendly organization; we welcome children at our events, as we believe you are never too young to learn the importance of “Giving Back”.  We also provide community service hours for students who attend schools where this is a requirement.

A light breakfast will be provided including coffee, morning juices and water so don’t worry about stopping by your local morning cafe because we’ve got you covered!

Questions:

Angela Fairwell, general event & volunteer information, 703-403-8937, angela@projectgiveback.org

Edgar Jimenez, on-line registration queries, 301-996-5308, edgar@projectgiveback.org

Ransom Miller, III, sponsorship, 202-321-1911, ransom@projectgiveback.org

Samantha Hawkins, event & distribution center queries, 301-412-1414, samantha@projectgiveback.org

Let me tell you about Project Giveback. I trust their work and believe in their mission so much that we include them in our missions budget each year. If you have care and compassion for the less fortunate, struggling or otherwise burdened, the staff of Project Giveback makes it possible to reach the right people at just the right time. Project GiveBack gives me and my
congregation something else to be thankful for at THANKSGIVING. Go Ransom/Go Project Giveback!!!!!

Pastor Courtenay Miller

With faith all things are possible to them that believe.

Courtenay is the Pastor of Norbeck Community Church (http://norbeckchurch.org). He also holds
the position of Chaplain for Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. Alpha Omega Chapter (www.alphaomegaques.org)

Find out how you can get involved with this outstanding organization by visiting www.projectgiveback.org.

I truly believe it is important to give back to our community.  I feel that we have an obligation to make an impact (large or small) on the communities that we call home, work in, and/or worship in. While there is chaos and confusion  around the globe and need in so many places, how can we walk right past our neighbors. Building stronger communities by helping those in need has a cumulative positive effect on the people who reside and institutions that serve that particular community.

 We support Project GiveBack because the purpose is simple (provide food to those most in need), the process is streamlined and efficient, and the payoff is immediate; giving hope and encouragement to others so that they know that they have not been forgotten or written off.

I have been involved with Project GiveBack from its inception: first as a co-worker and Omega Brother of the Founder, Ransom Miller, III, then as a family with my wife and children, and now as a coordinator for our Church’s efforts in Prince Georges County. The moment that sticks with me the most was a few years ago while delivering a 30 pound box of food to a mother and her 2 daughters. As the daughters looked in the box the younger girl said “…look mommy, a Bible” and she jumped in a chair and started flipping through the Good Book!!

Respectfully,

Kirk Blackman

Kirk Blackman is the Leader of the Men’s Ministry of the Prince George’s Community Church in Bowie, MD (www.pgcchurch.org).  Kirk also serves as the CEO of Blackman Financial Services (www.blackmanfs.com)

Contact:                    

 Media@projectgiveback.org

202.250.1849 

NOVEMBER 19, 2011                                                                                   

17th Annual Thanksgiving Food Distribution 

Area Citizens ‘Give Back’ to the Community

 providing food baskets to over 1,000 D.C. Area Families

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In an effort to make the lives of more than 1,000 families a bit happier this Thanksgiving, Project GiveBack and its more than 500 adult and grade-school volunteers,  prepared and distributed Thanksgiving grocery baskets to local families, shelters and assisted living facilities.  Volunteers assemble ‘baskets’ containing two weeks’ worth of food – including Thanksgiving dinner – for families in D.C, Md., and Va.

“For the past 17 years our organization has worked to make a difference in the community, so we encourage others to join us in our efforts by volunteering or donating funds and so that we can have an ever greater impact this season,” said Ransom Miller, III, founder of Project GiveBack.”

Volunteers that participated this year include students from Howard University, Georgetown University, Bowie State University, Lafayette Panther Football Team and St. John’s Catholic High School. Several local Girl Scout troops and members of several national fraternities and sororities also participated.

Project GiveBack volunteers will assembled the food boxes at Columbia Heights Educational Campus (formerly Bell Multicultural High School) at 3101 16th St. NW, Washington, D.C.  Deliveries went to underserved families in D.C., Md., and Va.  Afternoon satellite distribution sites were also held at Barry Farms, Shaw, Kentland/Glendarden MD, and Fairfax VA.

WTOP reporter Max Smith (twitter: amaxsmith) covered the event and posted his story at http://www.wtop.com/?nid=41&sid=2639665.  Audio stories will also run through Thanksgiving Day.

Below is a listing of the Sponsors who contributed towards this effort (as of 11/14/2011):

To learn more about Project GiveBack go to: www.projectgiveback.org.

About Project GiveBack

Over the years, Project GiveBack has grown from a small group of concerned men and women to an organization that is positively impacting lives in several communities around the U.S. Project GiveBack has coordinated events in Dallas, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, St. Louis, and Denver. More than 17 years ago, Ransom Miller came up with the idea of feeding families. At an early age, Ransom learned the importance of helping others from his parents, who were heavily involved in church.  He is inspired by the words of Shirley Chisholm, politician, educator, and author and the first black Congresswoman who said, “Service is our rent on earth.” Ransom and some faithful friends decided to live by that motto, and Project GiveBack was born. They started creating Thanksgiving gift baskets and distributing them to families in need.  During the first year, Project GiveBack delivered food to six families. This year, Project GiveBack distributed food to 1,000 families and provided the average family with two weeks’ worth of groceries, including a turkey dinner.    

Last year, volunteers delivered boxes full of food to over 1,000 families within our local community. We are thankful to those volunteers who have worked with us in years past and hope that Project Giveback will be considered again for your holiday community service efforts.  We also look forward to meeting and working with new volunteers! You can register to volunteer now at www.projectgiveback.org/registration/

 Below are this year’s available volunteer shifts, as well as the numbers of persons needed for each shift:

Friday, November 18, 2011

6:00PM-9:00PM – volunteers needed to help set-up venue for event (limited to 20 volunteers)

Saturday, November 19, 2011 (Volunteer Registration will begin 9/1/2011)

6:30AM-8:30AM – volunteers needed to assemble food baskets (300 volunteers)

10:00AM-10:30AM – volunteers needed to deliver food baskets – maps will be provided (300 volunteers)

12:00PM-2:00PM – volunteers needed to distribute food boxes at Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity House 6343 S. Kings Highway, Alexandria, VA 22306 (25 volunteers)

2:00PM-4:00PM – volunteers needed to distribute food boxes at Glenarden-Ardmore Boys and Girls Club, located at 8600 Glenarden Parkway, Glenarden, Maryland 20706 (10 volunteers)

Working with us will only take up a small part of your holiday but will have a lasting effect on those benefiting from your efforts, including you!  Project Giveback is a child friendly organization; we welcome children at our events, as we believe you are never too young to learn the importance of “Giving Back”.  We also provide community service hours for students who attend schools where this is a requirement.

A light breakfast will be provided including coffee, morning juices and water so don’t worry about stopping by your local morning cafe because we’ve got you covered!

Questions:
Angela Fairwell, general event information, 703-403-8937, angela@projectgiveback.org

Edgar Jimenez, on-line registration queries, 301-996-5308, edgar@projectgiveback.org

Ransom Miller, III, sponsorship, 202-321-1911, ransom@projectgiveback.org

Samantha Hawkins, event & distribution center queries, 301-535-0246, samantha@projectgiveback.org

Vision and Mission

The goal of Freshman Summit is to afford 9^th grade students with information that will provide a sound knowledge base that will serve to enhance social development and encourage growth in self-awareness, knowledge of self and increase positive self perception.  The sessions will be gender specific to ensure that the students feel comfortable discussing issues they may not want to address in front of the opposite gender and also will allow for more candid interaction from the participants within the sessions.

Many of the lessons that are missed in life revolve around issues that have become taboo to discuss, primarily money and sexuality. The idea for Freshman Summit is based on my perception of the needs of high school students that are not consistently being met within the home, school and the confines of healthy relationships.  Humans learn how to exist in relationships from birth. It is not until much later in life that we that we realize that the capacity to create a relationship albeit healthy or unhealthy lies within the individual and the way in which we were taught through life lessons and experiential learning. School is the birthplace of extra-familial social interaction and as society changes it is becoming more and more obvious that certain lessons are being negated by and large. The vision for this summit is to provide students with a sound knowledge base on which to build healthy relationships with self and others; manage life’s obstacles and opportunities; and start paving the road to building healthy, prosperous and well considered plans for their future.

The student will participate in two mandatory sessions that will address Personal/Emotional Health and Wellness and Personal Finances and Money Management.

Personal health and wellness sessions will include areas such as personal care, hygiene, dealing with puberty and young adulthood, safe-sex and sexually transmitted disease personal responsibility for ones actions, self-esteem and handling crisis situations.

Personal Finances and Money Management sessions will include an understanding a living wage, poverty and a comfortable lifestyle; helping students to understand money management; the importance of savings; credit management; home ownership; and debt/credit ratio; handling unexpected financial obligations. 

The two optional sessions of which the students will choose one will address goal setting/post secondary planning and Career exploration.

Goal Setting/Post Secondary Planning: Things to know about how life happens after high school. What can be done to prepare for life after high school including college preparation/college life/life in the workforce/life with a trade /non-traditional careers?

Career Exploration (Multiple speakers) 2-3 presenters discussing their careers and the path they took to reach their goals from high school through current position including Q& A at the end of each presenter. Presenters limited to 15-18 minutes each including Q & A.

 
2011 Childrens Easter Program

2011 Project GiveBack Children’s Easter Celebration Video

In addition to thanking you, I would like to thank what I like to refer to as Team PGB.  When you hear about Project GiveBack, you often hear my name as the founder, but Team PGB is much bigger than one person.  Each of them holds a deep and sincere passion and conviction to help others.  I know how truly blessed I am to have these super hero type personalities around me.   I love each of you! Thank you for your support and willingness to make a difference in our community. 

With Love,

Ransom Miller, III
Project GiveBack Founder