Kelly Stephens, a Tampa Bay Nielsen employee, came across #HashtagLunchbag and immediately fell in love with the concept. 

She went to her company to pitch the idea of a #HashtagLunchbag event. Over the course of several months Kelly, with the help of colleagues Guillermo Gonzalez and Nicholas Spiros, worked diligently to organize and figure out a way to purchase and obtain enough supplies to feed over 500 people across the Tampa Bay area. 

Fortunately, Nielsen employees also fell in love with the idea, eagerly assisting in purchasing groceries and supplies for those 500 meals. With the help of Suzie Hawkes of Coca-Cola, over 400 bottles of Dasani water were also donated. 

Through the course of two weeks, Nielsen’s night shift employees came together in packing the 500 meals to be given out to two organizations within the Tampa Bay Area, Francis House of Tampa, a support center for HIV and AIDS patients, and Metro Wellness of St. Petersburg, an organization that provides health and wellness services to the local community.

As if Nielsen employees hadn't already given enough, Nielsen maintains a volunteer program incentive that a certain number of volunteer hours completed by Nielsen employees will be paid time. The employees who volunteered their efforts and also donated goods for #HashtagLunchbag took it one step further by also declining compensation for their time. 

Wow, Nielsen, you are what it truly means to be Living Through Giving. We can't thank you enough for your efforts and feel honored that you chose our movement. We are so proud to have partnered with you!