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Shop2Care Foundation kicks off launch with $5,000 gift to Weekend Backpack Program

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— Ozarks Food Harvest has been selected as one of 20 initial U.S. charities to receive donations through Shop2Care, a new nonprofit online charitable shopping program.

“We’re thrilled that even more people can now help feed their neighbors here in the Midwest simply by shopping online as they’ve always done,” OFH Development Director Denise Gibson said. “Our region has some of the highest food insecurity rates in our state, and about one in four children continue to live in poverty.”

The website, Shop2Care.org, launched yesterday, donating consumers’ retailer rebates to nonprofit organizations after shoppers register free on the website and select one or more causes of his or her choice. To kick off giving, the Shop2Care Foundation donated $5,000 to OFH’s Weekend Backpack Program which provides at-risk children with nutritious food items for the weekends, when they do not have access to free and reduced school meals or after-school feeding programs. This donation will provide 833 backpacks for students in the Ozarks during the upcoming school year.

“We chose Ozarks Food Harvest as one of our first cause partners because of the organization’s history of strong community collaboration and ability to greatly leverage donated dollars,” philanthropist and Shop2Care founder, Mark Asofsky, said. “We anticipate Ozarks Food Harvest will be the recipient of thousands of dollars of future donations from Shop2Care members as they determine how to direct the retailer rebates generated from their normal online shopping behavior. All of this will occur at no additional cost to the member, but will have a significant impact on the issue of hunger.”

Consumers can register at Shop2Care.org, before they complete their regular online shopping, to help generate donations for causes they care about.

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About Ozarks Food Harvest   The Food Bank
Ozarks Food Harvest is the Feeding America food bank for southwest Missouri, serving 200 organizations across 28 Ozarks counties. The Food Bank distributes 12.5 million meals annually to more than 260,000 unduplicated individuals. Learn more at ozarksfoodharvest.org, facebook.com/ozarksfoodharvest or twitter.com/ozksfoodharvest.

About Shop2Care
Shop2Care is a charitable shopping program that enables its members to generate donations for causes they care about while shopping online, at no additional cost to them. Members can direct their donation dollars to human services, hunger relief, health, children’s services or education. Shop2Care enables anyone to be a philanthropist simply by purchasing the products and services they already need, highlights impactful nonprofit organizations and raises funds to benefit those in need nationwide. Registration is free at Shop2Care.org. Contact Karen Asofsky at (561) 325-7299, ext. 702 to learn more.