Portland Trail Blazers Star Evan Turner Teams Up with Blessings in a Backpack to Feed Hungry Children in Oregon, Ohio, and Illinois

Portland, OR (February 28, 2017) — Blessings in a Backpack is proud to announce its newest partnership to benefit select schools with a personal tie to Portland Trail Blazers Star Evan Turner.

Thanks to a generous donation from Turner, 300 students at three schools in Oregon, Ohio, and Illinois will take part in the Blessings in a Backpack program — a national child hunger relief non-profit that provides nutritious food every weekend throughout the entire school year. The students will also receive a special visit from Turner in March.

“I am so grateful to have the opportunity to partner with Blessings in a Backpack,” said Turner. “It was important to me that I find an organization directly helping kids in the cities that are very special to me. Childhood hunger is a real issue for millions of children throughout the United States and I want to do whatever I can to have a positive and meaningful impact on the well-being of these communities.”

“More than 15 million children rely on school meals for nutrition during the week and they are at risk of going hungry every weekend,” said Brooke Wiseman, CEO of Blessings in a Backpack. “We are honored to be working with Evan Turner to get backpacks of food into the hands of the kids that need it the most. These backpacks will supplement students nutrition over the weekend, when they don’t have access to meals at school.”

“Alder Elementary is extremely grateful for Evan’s support and generosity in providing 100 students with food to be taken home each weekend,” said Joy Leising, program coordinator at Alder. “The interest of Evan to causes such as Blessings in a Backpack is really exciting and he will be viewed as a role model in our community and our hearts.”