​Walker Edison participated in a company-wide service event Wednesday afternoon in partnership with Rise Against Hunger. Over 100 employees came together to prepare and package 40,000 meals for people in need.
 
Walker Edison values charitable service as an integral part of their culture. Each quarter employees receive paid time off to give back to nonprofit organizations in addition to opportunities to participate in company-wide service events. Matt Davis, Walker Edison’s co-owner and COO said of the event, “Contributing back to the community is so important for us and as a global business we love helping organizations like Rise Against Hunger. This is a great cause and serving together as a company is a lot of fun too.”
 
For each of the past two years, Walker Edison has donated 20,000 meals, but this year they decided to double their efforts. CEO Brad Bonham said, “We’re doing something really exciting here, being able to package 40,000 meals for kids who go hungry every day. We love Rise Against Hunger and we love doing service like this for others.”
 
Rise Against Hunger, an international hunger relief organization, aims to show the world that it is, in fact, possible to end hunger by the year 2030. With 28 U.S. locations and five international offices, the organization is committed to nourishing lives, providing emergency aid, empowering communities and growing the hunger relief movement. Rise Against Hunger has facilitated volunteer meal packaging of nearly 500 million meals to be distributed to countries around the world. To find out more about Rise Against Hunger, please visit www.riseagainsthunger.org.

Michelle is a happy girl with an awesome outlook on life. She was diagnosed with osteoscarcoma in March 2016 and has since been diagnosed with Lyme disease, undergone chemotherapy and had her leg amputated. 

Walker Edison had the great opportunity to participate in the Make-A-Wish proclamation delivery for Michelle and surprised both her and her family by picking them up in a limo and taking them to the Sunset Equestrian Center to ride horses. At the end of the fun-filled day, members of the Air Force presented Michelle with an American flag and told her they would be granting her wish to be a pilot in the United States Air Force. 

Michelle's wish was later granted by Make-A-Wish Utah on her 15th birthday. 

Walker Edison teamed up with Make-A-Wish Utah to help create an exciting day to reveal that Avery’s wish is going to be granted. Avery, a darling fun-loving young girl who was diagnosed with a nervous system disorder at the age of two, made a wish to have a bedroom makeover as she loves getting creative, with some of her hobbies being crafting and shopping for stylish outfits. She wants to design her room to match her bubbly personality by going shopping to find the furniture and décor she likes most.
On Saturday, April 28th, Walker Edison picked Avery, her mom, and her brother up in the morning for a surprise adventure she won’t ever forget. Traveling in style, a limo drove her around to multiple destinations until the late afternoon when her exciting wish reveal day ended.

For her love of cats, the first stop was at a Tinker’s Cat Café in the city. Who knew that existed here in Utah?! She got to play with the cats in the cute little café and eat some snacks. Next up, she headed to a Heart Beads Jewelry filled with unlimited crafts so she could create something unique. She made several bracelets filled with beads and charms that spoke to her personality, while her brother made a necklace.
The fun day wasn’t over yet, as they got to go to a salon and get their toes painted. Avery and her family dipped their toes into the warm water and sat in massage chairs to relax and have their toes decorated with bright colors for spring. Afterwards, lunch was served at Zupas where Avery was greeted with a group of people from Walker Edison and Make-A-Wish Utah. Her proclamation was read aloud to tell her that her wish is going to be granted soon! She was so excited to hear that in a few weeks she’ll get to redecorate her room however she wants to!

Once lunch was over, Avery was taken to her last stop, a Mrs. Cavanaugh’s Chocolate Factory for a sweet treat and tour. She got to pick out some candy pieces to dip into the tasty chocolate and have it customized for her to take home and snack on. The lovely employees took her behind the scenes where the chocolate is made and packaged.

Walker Edison was so glad to hear that Avery, her mom, and her brother had a blast that day, as we wanted to make the day special! We can’t wait to hear about her new room!
Thanks for all those who made her day the best!


Writer: Nicole Rodriguez

In October Walker Edison held its company-wide service day and prepared 20,000 meals for Rise Against Hunger.

According to Rise Against Hunger’s data, 20,000 meals provides enough to feed 93 school kids for an entire year.

Rise Against Hunger was created in1998 by Ray Buchanan, a United Methodist minister and is driven by the vision of a world without hunger. Its goal is to end hunger worldwide by 2030 by providing food and life-changing aid to the world’s most vulnerable and by creating a global commitment to mobilize the necessary resources.

When meals are provided through Rise Against Hunger, the food is shipped to areas in need all over the world.

“We’re a global business and we like to be involved and give back to our local community as well as the global community,” said Brad Bonham, CEO of Walker Edison. “We do service days once a quarter and get the entire office involved. It’s amazing what a difference you can make in just a few hours. In just over two hours we were able to package 20,000 meals that will be distributed to areas in need around the world. It feels great to be able to give service that will make a difference to so many people."