R3 Gives Back
R3 has been active with community service in recent months. During the 2020 holiday season, we held an Essential Item Drive in support of Thrive DC, donating over 1,500 individual items to our neighbors in need. Donated items included winter coats, toothbrushes, and face masks.
Earlier in the fall, R3 held a corporate Day of Service by volunteering at Capital Area Foodbank (CAF) where we packed emergency boxes with produce and shelf-stable food items for those in need in our community to be distributed in areas where traditional pantries have been closed due to the virus. Before the pandemic, CAF was providing 30 million meals annually to nearly 415,000 people in our region experiencing food insecurity.
The coronavirus prompted a sudden and significant spike in the need for emergency assistance. Those already struggling with food insecurity sought to create food reserves per the recommendations of preparedness officials, and those who were newly unemployed sought help for the first time.
Simultaneously, over half of the food bank’s 450+ nonprofit distribution partners — many of which are run by volunteers who are older and/or who have underlying health conditions — suspended service.
