Last updated on February 20th, 2024 at 08:12 am
On February 15, Remitly celebrated Black History Month with a Day of Service and Learning in support of the Backpack Brigade program, a nonprofit founded in 2014 whose sole mission is to end weekend hunger among children in Washington State.
The Day of Service and Learning started with Remitlians volunteering for the Backpack Brigade program, a nonprofit founded in 2014 whose sole mission is to end weekend hunger among children in Washington State. Backpack Brigade delivers weekend hunger relief every week of the school year. A community of volunteers packs thousands of bags of kid-friendly, easy-to-cook food weekly and delivers them to schools in Seattle, Renton, Highline, and Bellevue, where they’re distributed by school staff to over 2,500 students in need. Together, Remitlians packed 630 bags for children across King County.
For Praju Tuladhar, Black @ Remitly’s Executive Sponsor, teaming up with Backpack Brigade was a natural alignment with Remitly’s values, and a way of extending empathy into actionable support. He highlighted working with an organization dedicated to serving the Black community with a tangible impact. “We chose Backpack Brigade because they’re committed to serving the Black community in Seattle and beyond,” he says. “We wanted the ability to have a direct impact on young people in our community.”
Following the day of volunteering, Remitlians had the opportunity to attend a keynote by Smithsonian scholar Dr. Doretha Williams at the Northwest African American Museum, where she discussed Black family history and genealogy.
Black @ Remitly has also curated a series of moments for Remitlians to engage, learn, and celebrate together. Remitly’s Global VP of DEI, Bobby Wilkinson, will be joining Rene Yoakum, EVP of Customer and Culture for a fireside chat on the significance of Black History Month. The Listen & Learn Podcast Club will host a discussion of select episodes of Code Switch, an NPR podcast hosted by journalists of color. In addition, Remitly will feature Black-owned restaurants for weekly company meals throughout February, including Caribbean, Ethiopian, and Creole & Cajun cuisines from Chefs Jemil Aziz Johnson of Jemil’s Big Easy, Meeraf Mamo of Geni’s Ethiopian, and Mulu Abate of Lovage.
This month’s activities are meant to deepen understanding and appreciation of Black culture, aligning with 2024’s theme of African Americans and the Arts, shining a light on the vibrant expressions of the Black community through art, food, culture, literature, activism, and more.
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