Belly Buddies is the winner of the Better Business Bureau Serving Acadiana “Good Neighbor” Award for non-profits in Acadia, Evangeline, Iberia, Lafayette, St. Landry, St. Martin and Vermilion parishes.
The event was held at La Pavillion at Parc Lafayette on Oct. 17.
There were many businesses awarded during the event, and several non-profits were nominated in the “Good Neighbor Award” category. Belly Buddies was one of three finalists for the award. Once Was, Inc. and Hope for Opelousas were the other two non-profit finalists.
The BBB Torch Awards for Ethics honors businesses and non profits for putting integrity into action. “There were so many incredible organizations nominated, so we are especially proud and grateful to be chosen as the winner,” Katie Richard, founder and executive director of Belly Buddies.
Belly Buddies is a program to fight childhood hunger and has been in existence for almost 10 years in Eunice. Richard started the program when she taught at Glendale Elementary and now she teaches at Eunice Christian Academy in Eunice.
Belly Buddies still serves and provides food to over 50 children a week at Glendale and is now serving children at East Elementary. There are over 100 children from both elementary schools fed on weekends through Belly Buddies.
Belly Buddies is a non-profit organization which makes donations tax deductible. Belly Buddies provides bags with non perishable food items that can be easily opened with little preparation needed. The bags of food are distributed on Friday afternoons. The food items in the bag are to sustain the student for the entire weekend.
Four years ago Richard and the teachers and staff at the Eunice Christian Academy made Belly Buddies a mission of the school to get their pre-k through eight grade students involved with the process of helping others that are hungry and in need. Students at Eunice Christian Academy are now packing bags with food items monthly and getting to know the reason why they are doing this.
Belly Buddies’ goal and mission is to grow and expand to other schools and feed more children, and this year they have done just that. Belly Buddies is helping to provide food to students at East Elementary.
Currently it costs a little more than $4 a week to send a bag of food items with one student. It costs about $15 a month to feed one child and $180 for an entire year to feed a child.
For those of you who are wishing to donate monetarily, visit the Belly Buddies Facebook page or BellyBuddies.org.
