The 12 Days of Pizza project started with two big ideas: 1) Families who receive the 12 Days of Pizza Pack must have at least one elementary-school aged child. Teachers, School Councilors and School Administration will choose the families because nobody knows who might need it better than they do! 2) The project doesn't ask for donations from individuals. Local businesses are perfect partners because they are most likely to keep supporting the program year after year. Asking individuals for support each year might not have the same success.

 

Yet when people hear about The 12 Days of Pizza, they want to help. So we worked hard to figure out how to let individuals be part of the project if they really want to. When teachers and school councilors choose elementary school aged kids for the project, they address the problem of childhood hunger from the ground up. So how can we hit it from the top down? 

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We’ve decided that the answer is helping single moms who have fled situations of domestic violence. The 12 Days of Pizza is partnering with women's shelters to offer Pizza Packages to single moms who may not have stable income, and aren't used to having to provide for their kids over 12 consecutive days. Women often stay in abusive relationships because the man of the household is also the income provider. It takes a ton of courage to take your children out of those situations, especially when you don’t know what the next step in your life might be. So if you want to donate, please do! $5 or $50 or whatever!

 

Each time we hit a $100 milestone, a 12 Days Package with 12 coupons redeemable for a large pizza with anything on it, or a chicken dinner, and a copy of The 12 Dogs of Christmas will be sent to a women's shelter such as Working Against Violence, Inc, or Cornerstone Rescue Mission. Just like with the kids, the Mom's will have no idea it's coming until it arrives! Not too shabby!