COVID-19 Food Drive and First Responder Family Relief

Beginning July 15, 2020, the Chetu Foundation hosted a food drive and fundraiser to benefit both Feeding South Florida and the First Responder Children’s Foundation as part of the continued relief efforts done by the foundation to alleviate COVID-19-related hardships.

As part of the initiative, the foundation collected nonperishable food items donated by the company’s employees to give to the local South Florida food bank. With the pandemic continuing to take an economic toll on the local South Florida community, Feeding South Florida is continuing to step up to provide drive-thru food drop-offs for food-insecure families. It is the Foundation’s hope that Chetu’s donations will help local community members keep food on the table during these hard times.

In conjunction with the food drive, Chetu is continuing to support the families of first responders – such as firefighters, EMTs, and police officers – who have either lost their lives in the line of duty due to COVID-19 or are facing continued financial hardships. For every food item donated to Feeding South Florida, the Chetu Foundation donated $5 to the First Responders Children’s Foundation which helps both children who have lost a parent in the line of duty as well as families enduring significant financial hardships due to tragic circumstances, with funds for college tuition and the like.

The food drive lasted one month, July 15 – August 15, 2020, and collected over 300 pounds of food products for the South Florida community, and donated $1,625 to assist the families of first responders in the South Florida area.

While initially raising over $1625, the Chetu Foundation decided to up the donation to meet the needs of the local first responders in the area. On October 28, 2020, National First Responders Day, the Foundation worked with First Responders Children’s Foundation to present a check for $10,000 to the local Plantation Fire Department in honor of the incredible work they do in supporting the community. Present at the check presentation ceremony, which took place at the Plantation Fire Administration Building, was a representative of the Chetu Foundation – along with members of the Chetu team – and Plantation’s Fire Chief, Don Todd, who accepted the donation on behalf of the department. After a rough year of limited fundraising due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Fire Department expressed their sincere gratitude for the donation made by Chetu Foundation and the Chetu team.

The Chetu Foundation was built on the tenets of supporting local communities and is honored to play its part in helping those affected by the COVID- 19 pandemic.

To learn more about Feeding South Florida and the First Responders Children’s Foundation, or to get involved, visit https://feedingsouthflorida.org/ and https://1strcf.org/ respectively.