Protiviti provides 1 million meals to people in need
In the fall of last year Protiviti expanded its suite of corporate social responsibility initiatives with the launch of ‘i on Hunger’, a programme with the goal of providing more than 1 million meals to people in need in 1 years’ time. The initiative has since been rolled-out globally, with success – four months ahead of schedule the global advisory has revealed that it has fulfilled its target.
According to the World Food Programme, 805 million people in the world do not have enough food to lead a healthy active life, and poor nutrition causes nearly half (45%) of deaths in children under five years old – that’s 3.1 million children each year. In a move to contribute to the less hunger across the globe, consulting firm Protiviti in the fall of 2014 launched its ‘i on Hunger’ initiative. Key objective of the global initiative – Protiviti has a network of more than 70 locations in over 20 countries – is to provide more than one million meals to people in need within the timespan of one year.
In recent months Protiviti employees packed, and in some cases delivered, meals through 63 events in 16 countries, including Australia, Brazil, China, France, India, Japan, Singapore, The Netherlands and the United States. Thousands of employees took part, with in some cases Protiviti clients also joining the effort. “We’re very appreciative that many of our clients have rolled up their sleeves and joined us in packing meals for the hungry,” says Joseph Tarantino, President and CEO of Protiviti.
To maximise the impact of the ‘i on Hunger’ programme, Protiviti collaborates with over 30 non-profit organisations, including City Harvest, Feed My Starving Children, Feeding Children Everywhere, Food Lifeline, Harvester's Foodbank, Philabundance, Ronald McDonald House, Stop Hunger Now and Voedselbank Amsterdam (in the Netherlands).
The effort by employees, clients and volunteers has proven impactful – yesterday Protiviti announced that it had reached its one million meals objective more than four months ahead of schedule. The announcement follows a meal-packing event that took place in Orlando, where the firm’s incoming class of 2015 summer interns packed 100,000 meals. The nearly 200 interns, who are in Orlando for a week of orientation and training, were joined by Protiviti executives, including Tarantino himself, and employees from Protiviti’s local office (based at 301 E Pine Street). With the joint team effort, the total number of meals passed the 1-million mark.
"We could not have reached this milestone with such expediency without the dedication of our employees around the globe. They have an inspiring passion to help feed the world’s hungry," comments Tarantino.
Looking ahead
The achievement of the grand milestone does however not mean that Protiviti will downsize the initiative, says the firm’s CEO. In the coming months the business advisory will conduct another 25 i on Hunger events in the United States, Canada, England, Germany, India, Italy, The Netherlands and South Africa. "While reaching the one million meals goal is an incredible feat, we also recognise that hunger does not stop, and neither will we. Protiviti plans to keep providing meals to those in need and continuing to make a positive impact on the world’s most vulnerable people”, concludes Tarantino.
