Friend to Friend Campaign

One in four children in our community face hunger every day. Through the Friend-to-Friend Campaign, we are working to change that.

This campaign takes place in the fall each year. To learn more please contact Jenna Guess, Donor Relationship Manager, at jenna.guess@tafb.org.

TO DONATE, PLEASE CLICK HERE

The Story Behind the Campaign

In 2012, Mary Ralph Lowe and Elizabeth Ray made a concentrated effort to tell their friends about the intolerable problem of childhood hunger in their community. They believed that if their friends and neighbors were made aware of the magnitude of the problem they would respond generously—and they were right.

Elizabeth and Mary Ralph recruited 10 friends who they thought were influential, but most of all committed to bettering the community for everyone, forming the first Friend-to-Friend committee. Each committee member then asked 10 of their friends to give the names of 10 of their friends – growing the campaign’s mailing list more and more. The campaign involved no event and no committee meetings – just one letter mailed to many.

The first Friend-to-Friend letter written by Mary Ralph in 2012:

“While Fort Worth thrives, we have a staggering amount of very hungry children! Texas has the 2nd highest number of hungry children among all fifty states. In Tarrant County, one in every four children in our community is under or malnourished or chronically hungry, going to bed or to school with growling tummies. Tarrant Area Food Bank provides nearly 12 million meals a year to children at risk of going hungry; however, they are still 18 million meals short of meeting the needs of our children. Surely, WE can do better! We need your help and I beg you to help us WIN THIS BATTLE against malnutrition and hunger, which brings sickness, suffering and grief in our community.”

The Friend-to-Friend committee wrote personal notes and signed that letter above to the people they knew. The response rate of 36 percent was stunning and totaled $162,335. Over the past twelve years the group has raised over 1.7 million. With that money, TAFB has been able to distribute over 8 million meals for children.

2024 Committee

Mary Ralph Lowe and Elizabeth Ray, 2024 Founding Chairmen
Ashli Blumenfeld, Sheila Johnson, Samantha Pace and Meredith Ray, 2024 Chairmen

Susanna Bartolomei | Lauren Bredthauer | Janis Brous | Margo Bush | Caroline Crawford
Kelly Ann Ewin | Margaret Farrell | Beth Gideon | Tina Gorski | Lissa Harrison | Courtney McGrail | Samantha Pace | Tamara Reese | Patricia Ryan | Mary Marshall Smith | Janice Thomas | Charlotte Tripplehorn | Emily Williams | Chelsea Wood

It is the committee’s sincerest hope that you will join them in this year’s campaign and invite your friends to join as well. Thousands of children are counting on us, as a community, to advocate on their behalf – it’s a huge responsibility.

Many thanks for the continuous support of our founders, campaign chairs and community!