Greg and Kathy Spier of Foxborough are issuing a $25,000 challenge grant to support the Hockomock Area YMCA’s commitment to address food insecurity in area towns and neighborhoods. The Spiers and the Spier Family Foundation are matching every donation made Aug. 9-22 up to $25,000.
When the Spier Family Kindness for Kids Challenge is met, it will result in $50,000 to benefit food security initiatives through the Hockomock Area YMCA.
Every Wednesday, since March of 2020, the Hockomock Y has provided free family-size grocery bags valued at $50 each at their branches in Foxboro, Franklin and North Attleborough to anyone in need. To date, more than 40,000 bags have been distributed. The Y has also been working with community partners and school nutrition departments to ensure that children and families have grab and go meals for breakfast and lunch throughout the year. This summer, grab and go meals are being offered in Bellingham, North Attleborough, Milford and Wrentham. So far, the Y has provided 386,499 meals to those in need.
More than 17 months later, families continue to face financial stresses as a result of the pandemic including basic needs like food.
“Our YMCA remains committed to being a safety net for so many kids and families during these challenging times. I am so proud of the work our Y continues to do in partnership with others to alleviate hunger in our communities,” said Ed Hurley, CEO of the Hockomock Area YMCA. “We have only been able to do this through the philanthropic support of a caring community.”
The Spier family’s impact in our local communities runs deep. Their legacy at the Hockomock YMCA includes the naming of the indoor and outdoor aquatics centers at the Y’s Invensys Foxboro Branch, along with Greg and Kathy’s parents, Sonja and the late Alex Spier.
Through the Spier Family Kindness for Kids Challenge, Kathy Spier expressed her hope that this challenge “will inspire people to make a gift to help feed kids and families and spread kindness and a caring hand to those who need it in our communities.”
“We were so thrilled with the overwhelming response to last year’s Kindness for Kids challenge,” said Kathy. “Knowing that the need continues in our community, and proud of how our YMCA is responding, we are offering this challenge again to provide an opportunity for people of all ages to come together and offer a helping hand to neighbors in need.”
“My dad always talked about wanting to leave the world a better place than he found it. That’s why he and my mom, and Kathy and I, are such passionate supporters of the Hockomock Area YMCA. We continue to see firsthand the impact our Y is having in responding to so many critical emerging needs,” said Greg Spier. “Kathy and I are so grateful for how our Y is responding to the ongoing challenges of food insecurity.”
Every gift matters. To learn more about this challenge and ways to make a gift, visit www.hockymca.org/spier-challenge
To learn about other ways to support this initiative, please contact Katie Moore at katiem@hockymca.org.
For more information about the Y’s food securities initiatives, visit hockymca.org/food-access.
