Sunshine Matters

For the third year in a row, the VISIT FLORIDA Charity Committee organized the “This Side vs. That Side” canned food drive challenge to support America’s Second Harvest of the Big Bend.  This healthy competition – with an ice cream social on the line for the winning side – splits the VISIT FLORIDA office in half to see which side can collect the most non-perishable items for the local food bank.

As the head of the VISIT FLORIDA Charity Committee, I am proud to share that this year’s food drive brought in 771 pounds of food, bottled water and toiletries – an increase of 516 pounds over last year’s total.  While “That Side” won the ice cream social, the real winners are the thousands of men, women and children in the Big Bend area who turn to Second Harvest in their time of need.

One in six Americans experience hunger on a regular basis.  Every month in the Big Bend, more than 33,000 people are given food from the Second Harvest food bank, one-third of those are children and 11 percent are seniors.  Second Harvest of the Big Bend has a mission to feed these people, and to educate and engage the community in the fight against hunger.  In addition to operating the food bank, Second Harvest has many other programs that cater to children, seniors and victims of disasters.

VISIT FLORIDA staff not only had fun competing against each other, but we take great pride in doing our part to improve the lives of our neighbors by helping create a stronger community.  During this special time of year, we encourage you all to give back to your communities.  Collectively, the Florida tourism industry can have a huge impact on the people living in our state.  By combining our efforts toward a worthy cause, Florida’s future will be brighter than ever.