hashtaglunchbag-icon-contact-events hashtaglunchbag-icon-email-us-contact hashtaglunchbag-icon-hamburger hashtaglunchbag-icon-when-events hashtaglunchbag-icon-where-events hashtaglunchbag-logo-heart

Ajay Relan


  • donated via 2015-06-23 13:48:35 -0700

    Donate

    Donate

  • published FAQs 2015-05-20 14:12:37 -0700

    FAQs

    Welcome to #HashtagLunchbag's FAQs. We hope these help in answering any questions you may have. 


  • commented on Contact 2016-09-12 09:19:18 -0700
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    Contact

    Contact Us!

    Whether you need help finding an event or simply want to know how you can make an impact, contact us we'll be sure to assist you with your inquiries and requests.
    Send Message

  • published Shop 2015-04-07 17:52:21 -0700

  • published Stories 2015-04-02 18:19:25 -0700

    News

    Living Through Giving Is So Gangster
    Posted by · July 17, 2018 9:21 AM

    We All Have Something To Give
    Posted by · July 12, 2018 7:44 AM

    #OriginalGiver - Anaika Forbes
    Posted by · June 18, 2018 8:16 PM · 1 reaction

    See all posts

  • published Share 2015-04-02 18:19:02 -0700

  • published Corporate Opportunity in Get Involved 2015-04-02 18:18:11 -0700

    Corporate Opportunity

    Corporate Opportunities

    #HashtagLunchbag welcomes businesses, whether small companies or large corporations, who are in alignment with our vision and wish to make a resounding contribution, both in their own back yard, as well as the world at large.

    Want To Get Involved?

    Corporate Contact

    #HashtagLunchbag In Action

    Whether done as a team building exercise or contributing in-kind/financial resources to aid our efforts, the most rewarding part is hearing first hand the impact our movement makes among our volunteers.
    Testimonial PortraitTestimonial Portrait
    Michael Lacorazza, Wells Fargo

    Executive Vice President,
    Integrated Marketing

    Quote Icon#HashtagLunchbag plays a critical role in changing lives one meal and one kind thought at a time. Anyone who participates in their events, which now take place worldwide, experience first-hand the positive impacts their efforts have on the lives they touch and the communities we live in. Serving our communities is central to our company's Values. We are proud to work with #HashtagLunchbag in support of our communities. The organization has been inspiring to our team members and is proof that all the small things we do add up to having a huge impact.Quote Icon
    Testimonial PortraitTestimonial Portrait
    Gianna Smith

    The New York Knicks,
    Community Relations Manager

    Quote IconI’ve been blown away by the energy of the Hashtag Lunchbag team at every encounter. They are welcoming and inspiring and create a community that you want to be a part of. The Hashtag movement is invigorating and brings you into parts of your own city that oftentimes go ignored and unacknowledged. The experience is wonderful for an individual or as a group, and I look forward to participating again soon!Quote Icon
    Testimonial Portrait
    Cristianne Wendler

    US State Dept, Consulate General

    Quote IconIn May of 2014, over 100 staff, friends and family of US Consulate Johannesburg prepared and delivered more than 800 lunches to hungry kids in nearby townships. An 18-car convoy full of volunteers distributed the lunches to various sites around Johannesburg where the Consulate has U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Community Grants projects. The amazing enthusiasm and goodwill of the volunteers interacting with community members while distributing lunches made the event a great act of service and a whole lot of fun!Quote Icon
    Testimonial Portrait
    JJ Owen

    Movember Foundation, Director

    Quote IconOne of the most rewarding things I have been fortunate enough to experience was a chance to participate in my first #HashtagLunchbag event at the Parlor in Hollywood. #HashtagLunchbag is the furtherst thing from your mom & dad’s traditional charity – and that’s what we all dig about it. It’s about bringing the noise while bringing the love to those who need a little more of that in their lives - and that goes for the volunteers and the community they serve. Keep bringing the party #!Quote Icon
    Testimonial Portrait
    Nic Haggart

    Lyft, Brand Marketing Manager

    Quote IconIn this online age, #HashtagLunchbag is great example of a forward-thinking organization that is harnessing the power of real connection and real community to respond to problems in the real world.Quote Icon
    Testimonial Portrait
    Blakeley Camp

    Blakeley Camp,
    Director Customer Relations at Onnit

    Quote IconOnnit was proud to sponsor Austin Texas's first #HashtagLunchbag experience during SXSW this year. We were easily able to pump out hundreds of sandwiches and reach the hearts of many homeless and hungry within the city. It takes so little to give back in a world where the fortunate and the hungry have become so divided, and it was unlike any other charity event we've ever been apart of. Instant gratification through love. #HashtagLunchbagQuote Icon
    Testimonial Portrait
    Melissa Lake

    OneHope Foundation,
    Executive Director

    Quote IconOur [ONEHOPE's] first experience with #HashtagLunchbag was so great, we decided to do it again and triple the number of meals we made. The completely authentic connection with the community was the best part of the experience -- and the reason we will continue to do #HTLB experiences in the future. The opportunity to talk to the person receiving the meal, make the connection of love and hope, and hopefully brighten their day is a contagious feeling that we will continue to pursue again and again.Quote Icon
    Testimonial Portrait
    Nathaniel Neubauer

    Contemporary Catering,
    Executive Chef & Proprietor

    Quote IconI cannot begin to express what an amazing experience I personally as well as our team had with #HashtagLunchbag. They’ve creates a forum for not just the recipients but for those that participate. Coming together as group with passion and purpose to help care for others is what #HashtagLunchbag does. If anyone could find anyway to get involved with this organization, I would recommend doing so as soon as possible.Quote Icon

    Our Proud Partners

    A few that help us keep our efforts going & growing.
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    Want To Host Your Own Event?

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  • published Join an Event in Get Involved 2015-04-02 18:16:23 -0700

    Join an Event

    Join the Movement

    Communities around the world are doing their part to organize and spread love in their very own backyards. Check out some of the upcoming events happening in your area below.
    See all events or Host your own

  • published Our Story 2015-07-07 16:46:56 -0700

    Our Story

    Our Story

    #HashtagLunchbag is the perfect example of how a small group of people on a local level can make a tremendous impact, one small act at a time. Learn about how we got started and the things that continue to keep us moving.

    Our Beginning

    #HashtagLunchbag began on Christmas 2012 in a Los Angeles apartment by a group of friends who were having trouble finding a fun & meaningful way to give back. After a few failed attempts, we decided to take it upon ourselves and create our own experience. We went to our local grocery store and bought enough food to prepare 100 lunches (the kind your mom made you in grade school that made the other kids jealous). We sang and danced. We cracked jokes. We took breaks to watch funny Youtube videos. We connected with each other on a different level, while having the time of our lives! We hit the streets near the Santa Monica Pier and Venice Boardwalk looking for anyone that could use a meal. We smiled when asking people if they were hungry. We exchanged pleasantries while handing over our creations. We acknowledged their humanity, as well as our own. When we were done, we felt awesome and wanted to share with our friends! So we did. We shared on each of our social media platforms, jokingly tagging our posts with #HashtagLunchbag as an ode to hashtags.... plus it rhymed with what we were distributing (simple enough, right?).

    We didn't originally intend to repeat our efforts but shortly after sharing, we received an abnormally large amount of likes/comments/calls/texts/emails from people telling us how amazing this looked & wanting to join us for "the next one." Riding the high of our good deeds, we decided to repeat our efforts a month later in January 2013. More of our friends joined, more meals were made, and more people were fed. Once again, we felt awesome and once again, we shared. The ripple continued and more people were hitting us up wanting to know how they could get involved. We ran it back for another go 'round in February 2013, growing out of our apartment to a local restaurant. We set a goal of making 1,000 meals. 100 hundred people showed up for the party. We added love notes of encouragement to each meal to further acknowledge those we were feeding, reminding them that they weren't forgotten. Just like we did, everyone went on to share their experiences on their social platforms, intriguing and inspiring their friends and their followers.

    The ripple continued and ever since, we've hosted #HashtagLunchbag events at least once a month in Los Angeles. Through our committed efforts, we began to see others, friends and strangers alike, replicate our model. We shared our story with anyone interested and empowered many to bring our movement to their local community with simple do-it-yourself instructions. To date, our movement has grown to 100+ cities hosting #HashtagLunchbag events around the globe! We never thought that our small actions one Christmas morning would have gone global, inspiring others to spread love, one lunch bag at a time.

    Our rapid growth led to the formation of the Living Through Giving Foundation, a registered 501(c)3 non profit organization that empowers humanity with the tools to create & benefit from organized acts of Love.

    Our Values

    #HashtagLunchbag has become more than just a program that feeds the hungry in local communities. With handwritten love notes as our secret ingredient, we use bagged lunches as vessels to spread love, acknowledging the humanity of both the giver and the receiver.
    Heart Logo

    Heart LogoPresent

    We present an A-Z experience for our volunteers to contribute their time to something fun & meaningful, while connecting with friends, both old & new, and immediately seeing the fruits of their labor.
    Heart Logo

    Heart LogoFeel

    Giving feels good, both for the giver and the receiver. Simply witnessing a random act of kindness uplifts the spirits of all parties involved. We are incrementally relentless in renewing these feelings with each and every meal we provide.
    Heart Logo

    Heart LogoFeed

    We are feeding a different kind of hunger. By providing a nourishing meal + love note to a person in need, not only are we feeding them, we are feeding ourselves. Feeding our souls. Feeding the humanity inside each and every one of us.
    Heart Logo

    Heart LogoInspire

    By sharing our good deeds, both online & offline, we have the power to inspire others to join us in experiencing what we get when we give, sending an exponential ripple throughout the universe.

    Feed & Feel Love™

    A few months after we started #HashtagLunchbag, we realized that our efforts weren't revolutionary by any means. We were becoming known as a "feed the homeless" program (which made complete sense), but we knew we were much more than that. We would often question whether our efforts were really putting a dent in the bigger issues of hunger & homelessness. At the same time, we were seeing rapid expansion to other major cities, with people becoming addicted to what we created. We couldn't help but ask ourselves "Why?"

    It then occurred to us that the meals we were creating were secondary to what we were really doing: presenting our friends with an opportunity to get out of their daily routine; an opportunity to snap out of their individual circumstances, even if just for a moment; an opportunity to do something for someone that couldn't provide them with anything tangible in return.

    In doing so, we had an 'aha' moment and came to this conclusion: By Feeding others with meals prepared with Love, we were Feeling Love ourselves! Whether providing a meal to a hungry or simply smiling at a stranger on the street, any act, no matter how big or small, makes a difference and is more than enough!

    Living Through Giving™

    Living Through Giving is the engine that powers what we do. It’s the intention behind every sandwich made and every love note written. A few months after creating #HashtagLunchbag, after watching our friends and followers bring the movement to their city, we quickly learned that our WHY for what we were doing was much more powerful than the WHAT we were actually doing. We feel most alive when we were focusing out of ourselves and want to share this experience with any and everyone. Whether participating in a #HashtagLunchbag, helping an elderly person cross the street, or simply smiling at a stranger, every effort counts towards our greater purpose. However big or small, we do whatever we can with whatever we’ve got.

    Want To Host Your Own Event?

    Host An Event

    Join An Event

    Join

  • published Get Involved 2015-04-02 18:15:43 -0700

    Get Involved

    Join An Event

    Want to join an event in your community and make a difference in someone's life, while feeding your own humanity?
    Join

    Host An Event

    Don't see any events in your community or simply want to host your own for your friends or organization?
    Host Your Own Event

    Corporate Opportunities

    We love our corporate partners! From helping you build morale among the teams in your organization, to in-kind and/or monetary contributions, #HashtagLunchbag is happy to help your company find ways get involved while helping us making a difference in our communities!
    Start Today

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