MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Through Giving
# HASHTAGLUNCHBAG
A few years ago , I was dragged on a Saturday morning to an event called # HashtagLunchbag in Tampa . Having just finished a week-long trial , I was less than enthused to be giving up my precious morning for something I knew nothing about . I arrived at a restaurant and was quickly ushered inside to a table and handed a name tag , gloves , a jar of mayonnaise , and a knife . Across from me stood a woman spreading mustard on some bread slices , so I began mindlessly putting mayonnaise on some bread and placing it on the table beside me .
As my coffee started to kick in , I was finally able to take in the entire scene . Around me were approximately 50 other people . To my right were men and women adding meat and cheese to the bread my mustard companion and I had lathered ; at the end of the line was an individual packing those sandwiches into Ziplock bags and stacking them into something that closely resembled the Leaning Tower of Pisa . At another table sat children and adults happily coloring with markers on brown paper lunch bags , and another table contained people feverishly writing on post-it notes . What was most apparent though , was that everyone was smiling , laughing , and having a great time ; and in the end , so did I .
All of the items eventually made their way into the hundreds of colorfully decorated lunch bags , which were lined up and down the bar . Throughout the morning , we cracked jokes , got to know one another , and connected with each other on a different level while having the time of our lives . When we finished , we made over 300 lunches which we loaded into our cars to pass out to anyone who was hungry in the area .
# HashtagLunchbag began in 2012 in a Los Angeles apartment by a group of friends who were having trouble finding a fun and meaningful way to give back . They went to their local grocery store and bought enough food to prepare 100 lunches ( the kind your mom made you in grade school that made the other kids jealous ). Afterwards , they hit the streets looking for anyone that could use a meal . When they were done , they wanted to share their experience with their friends . So , they shared it on their social media platforms jokingly tagging the posts with # HashtagLunchbag as an ode to hashtags . The event quickly took on a life of its own and to date , the # HashtagLunchbag movement has grown and is hosted in over 100 cities around the globe . The rapid growth led to the formation of the Living Through Giving Foundation , a registered 501 ( c ) 3 non-profit organization that empowers humanity with the tools to create and benefit from organized acts of Love .
After that first event , I knew I had discovered something special . It ’ s so easy as attorneys to disassociate from our lives and our humanity due to the stress and requirements of our profession .
See HASHTAG , page 23
20 | THE DOCKET - FEBRUARY 2022