Have A Heart Campaign 2012
Each year, the Tuxedo Chamber of Commerce conducts our Have-A-Heart Campaign, which raises funds from local businesses and citizens for the benefit of a local charity.
The campaign’s beneficiary is the
PTO and Tuxedo Union Free School District’s BackPack
Program, which actively
fights youth hunger in our local community. Each week, BackPack Program
volunteers provide a nutritious back pack full of child-friendly, shelf-stable
foods such as peanut butter, cereal, fruit cups, granola bars, and other
healthy foods to children in need. These necessities are sent home on Friday to
keep children from going hungry on weekends when free or reduced meals are not
available at school.
Because the program relies solely on donations, your help is necessary to keeping the program solvent through 2012 and into the 2013 school year. Please consider making a contribution or supporting the program.
FIGHT YOUTH HUNGER TODAY Donations Matched By St. Mary's & the Chamber! 
All funds raised through the Have-A-Heart Campaign are generously matched dollar-for-dollar by both St. Mary’s-In-Tuxedo Episcopal Church as well as the Chamber itself, meaning that each dollar raised by the campaign results in three dollars being donated to the program! Last year, the campaign was able to raise $2,525.82, including matching contributions from St. Mary's-In-Tuxedo Episcopal Church and the Chamber itself.
How Do I Donate? You can either donate directly to the Chamber (contact a Chamber officer), mail a check, or place cash donations in the jars (see below) located in several Tuxedo businesses. The jars will be in place by March 1st. We can accept payment via credit card as well (contact Bob Thompson at 845.351.5006). If donating by check, send it to: Tuxedo Chamber of Commerce (Write: Have-A-Heart 2012 in the memo box) PO Box 514 Tuxedo NY 10987-0514 Here's what the jars look like:
 More Information about the BackPack Program
 As a joint venture between the Tuxedo PTO and Tuxedo Union Free School District, the BackPack Program fights youth hunger in our community by providing children at risk of hunger with a weekly backpack full of nutritious, kid-friendly, and shelf-stable food to get them through the weekend (when school meals are not available).
The BackPack Program is funded solely by community donations.
The program's concept was developed at the Arkansas Rice Depot in the early 90s when a school nurse asked for help because hungry students were approaching her with stomach aches and dizziness. A nearby food bank began to provide the students with groceries in a non-descript back pack to carry the food home, and the subsequent improvement on the student's health and ability to learn was dramatic.
 The BackPack Program became a pilot effort of the National Council of Feeding America in 1995, and was approved as an official national program in July of 2006. In 2009, more than 140 members operated more than 3,600 BackPack Programs that aided approximately 190,000 children.
Typical components supplied in weekly backpacks contain 1-2 servings from each major food group and weighs about 5-8 pounds. The goal of the program is to supply protein, grains, fruits, vegetables, and shelf-sustainable dairy to each child to meet their growing nutritional needs.
Our program focuses on the family, not just an individual child. Backpacks are customized to accommodate known food allergies and the number and ages of children in the family. We offer multiple backpack deliver or pickup options.
It is of great concern that participating families of the program maintain their privacy. Backpacks are nondescript and every effort is made to distribute the backpacks as discreetly as possible. BackPack volunteers do not know the identities of participating families.
 The Tuxedo Chamber of Commerce has named the BackPack program the sole beneficiary of our annual Have a Heart Campaign. To find out more about how you can help, please contact a Chamber officer.
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