Cereal4All, which runs an annual cereal drive organized by twin brothers Jett and Luke Justin, collected nearly 65,000 bowls of cereal during its annual cereal drive this Spring and donated it to Boca Helping Hands (BHH). This donation means that Boca Helping Hands will be able to provide clients with 6418 boxes of cereal. The Justins, 15-year-old twin brothers and Boca Raton residents, attend American Heritage School in Delray Beach.
This year, the Justin brothers expanded their organization nationally to have schools in Connecticut, Arizona, New York, Nevada, Washington, and California organize Cereal4All cereal drives to benefit local food banks in those areas. Across the United States, Cereal4All drives collected 10,127 boxes of cereal.
The Justin brothers have recently established partnerships with several businesses. Target donated gift cards to participating schools to buy school supplies. Publix provided cereal parties for K-5 schools’ top-donating classrooms; the Miami Heat provided game tickets for students who donated to drives, chosen through a drawing; and Rapids Water Park provided tickets for a drawing.
“We created Cereal4all to fight hunger around America’s breakfast tables because millions of American families suffer from food insecurity, which means they can’t always afford enough meals for everyone in their homes. Those families depend on food banks to help ease their hunger issues. Since breakfast food is one of the least donated items to food banks, that means pantry bags of meals distributed to families in need are often missing breakfast food,” said Luke Justin.
Local schools that participated in the cereal drive included Village Academy Center in Delray, Calusa Elementary, Sunrise Park Elementary, St. Joan of Arc Catholic School, Morikami Park Elementary, Whispering Pines Elementary, Grandview Preparatory School, West Boca High School, Katz Hillel Day School, FAU Community Service Club, Boca Raton Elementary, Addison Mizner School, and Blue Lake Elementary.
“My brother and I learned about the breakfast food shortage in 2016 while volunteering in the food bank at Boca Helping Hands, and it had a big effect on us because, like most young people, we love cereal. Cereal is about breakfast, but it’s also about happiness, so we were bothered by the reality that millions of families and kids might not have daily access to breakfast and that moment of happiness in their day,” said Jett Justin.
Jett and Luke organized their first cereal drive for BHH in 2016 at their school, Calusa Elementary, when they were just eight years old. Despite their busy high school schedules and being active members in the Boca Raton Civil Air Patrol Squadron, the Justin brothers devote a significant amount of time to working on Cereal4all so they can expand their impact and help provide even more relief to families struggling with food insecurity.
“Running a nonprofit can be hard work, but Cereal4all is one of the most fulfilling things my brother and I do. There’s really no better feeling than making a positive difference in someone else’s life,” said Luke Justin.
About Boca Helping Hands
Now in its 25th year of operation, Boca Helping Hands (BHH) is a community-based nonprofit that provides food, job training, access to healthcare and financial assistance to help individuals and families improve their quality of life and build financial stability.Through its various programs, BHH assists nearly 35,000people annually.
Boca Helping Hands is a partner agency of The Town of Palm Beach United Way. Since 1945, the Town of Palm Beach United Way has been committed to improving lives and building strong communities throughout Palm Beach County by focusing on programs and priorities that promote education, health, and financial stability.
Boca Helping Hands holds accreditation for Sound Nonprofit Management from Nonprofits First, has a 2022 Gold Seal of Transparency from Candid/GuideStar, and was named a Four-Star Charity by Charity Navigator for the 16th consecutive year in 2022. Boca Helping Hands is located at 1500 NW 1st Court, Boca Raton, FL 33432. For more information, please visit BocaHelpingHands.org.
