By Scott D. Johnston
For North Coast News
Copalis Beach’s Phyllis Shaughnessy, the great-grandmother whose efforts have led to 30,000 free lunches for low-income North Coast children in less than two years, is about to receive a huge boost for her cause, the Green Lantern Lunch Program.
The North Coast News has learned that Phyllis and the lunch program will receive a $100,000 award from The KIND Foundation, a non-profit begun by KIND Snacks.
Dana Rosenberg, Director of The KIND Foundation, will bring a group to Copalis Beach Dec. 3 to photograph Phyllis and the team of volunteers she has assembled to work the free lunch program. An interview with Phyllis and Rosenberg will run in the Dec. 8 edition of The North Coast News.
Since 2004, KIND has been involved in various activities that champion kindness. Over the past year, the company has taken its social impact efforts to the next level. The KIND Foundation’s KIND People program is by far the largest endeavor.
Foundation materials explain that the program “aims to recognize and support individuals who embody kindness – everyday people who have gone out of their way to help others – and are positively transforming their communities. To celebrate the most exemplary nominees and help them on their journey to do more good, the foundation will be awarding a total of $1 million – five awards of $100,000 each, and one award of $500,000,” according to the announcement early this year that called for nominations.
More than 4,600 nominations were received, and the final result of the program’s first year produced another act of kindness. According to KIND Director of Communications Ashley Herendeen, “we actually ended up selecting seven recipients – we simply couldn’t choose six because the stories were so inspiring.” The seven winners will be formally announced December 6.
“We want to identify selfless individuals who are not looking for credit, but whose work is worth amplifying to further their impact in society, and to inspire all of us to bring more kindness into our lives,” said Daniel Lubetzky, founder & CEO of KIND and president of The KIND Foundation.
