September 24, 2021 — Gift for Life today announced a partnership with Clarion Events Gift & Souvenir Portfolio to extend its successful "Feed the Hungry. Feel the Good" fundraising campaign across four Clarion Events managed trade shows – Las Vegas Souvenir & Resort Gift Show, Ocean City Resort Gift Expo, Smoky Mountain Gift Show and Grand Strand Gift & Resort Merchandise Show. All funds raised will benefit World Central Kitchen’s programs addressing crisis-related hunger relief.

"Feed the Hungry. Feel the Good."
Fundraising Benefits World Central Kitchen

“We are delighted to partner with Clarion Events to extend our ‘Feed the Hungry. Feel the Good’ campaign through year-end,” said Cole Daugherty, chair of the Gift for Life board. “These additional efforts will allow our industry to continue to support World Central Kitchen programs feeding hungry families in our communities.”
 
During the summer 2021 markets, Gift for Life initiatives raised more than $80,000 for World Central Kitchen. Clarion Events’ extension of the “Feed the Hungry. Feel the Good” campaign is expected to raise another $20,000 for hunger relief in 2021.
 
Clarion will kick off donations, contributing the first $1,500, with each show having an individual $5,000 fundraising goal. “Feel the Hungry. Feel the Good” will be promoted to exhibitors and attendees at each buying event, and all donors will be entered to win a free one-night hotel stay at the 2022 edition of each of the four events.  
 
This is Clarion Events’ second partnership with Gift for Life, the gift and home industry’s sole charitable organization. In 2018, Clarion Events teamed up with Gift for Life for a World AIDS Day event during our Grand Strand Gift & Resort Merchandise Show.
 
“We are excited to partner once again with Gift for Life to support another organization doing great work and to encourage buyers and suppliers in the souvenir and resort communities served by our events to come together for a common good,” said Lisa Berry, Vice President of Gift & Souvenir at Clarion Events. “We are so encouraged that manageable donations can make such a difference. For example, a $50 donation provides 5 meals for those that need them.”
 
The campaigns kick-off next week at the Las Vegas Souvenir & Resort Gift Show (https://donate.wck.org/LVSouvenir), September 28-30 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV.  Fundraising continues through year-end at the Ocean City Resort Gift Expo (https://donate.wck.org/OceanCity), November 1-3, at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center, in Ocean City, MD; Smoky Mountain Gift Show (https://donate.wck.org/SmokyMountain), November 10-13, at the Gatlinburg Convention Center in Gatlinburg, TN; and Grand Strand Gift & Resort Merchandise Show (https://donate.wck.org/GrandStrand), December 5-8, at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center in Myrtle Beach, SC.  Event Information and registration is available at  www.clariongiftandsouvenir.com.
 
Founded in 2010 by Chef José Andrés, World Central Kitchen (WCK) uses the power of food to nourish communities and strengthen economies in times of crisis and beyond. In 2020, with COVID-19 straining traditional food security safety nets like school feeding programs, city services and food banks, WCK pivoted to safely distribute individually packaged, fresh meals in communities that need support and launched the Restaurants for the People program to scale nationwide. This program meets critical needs on two fronts: buying meals directly from restaurants and delivering them to Americans who need help. To date, the program has worked with 2,500 restaurants to serve over 12 million restaurant meals and have disbursed more than $135 million dollars directly to restaurants owners in 400 cities across 35 states. For information, visit www.wck.org.
 
Since 1995, Clarion Events has produced and managed a portfolio of more than 30 trade and consumer events, serving a range of industry sectors including Gift, Souvenir, Apparel, Foodservice, Specialty Retail, Gaming, and Enthusiast Lifestyle. Their mission has been to support the industry year-round and continue to look for ways to keep the gift & souvenir community connected and informed. The teams at Clarion create uniquely effective and stimulating environments that can serve as a platform to build businesses, enhance customer relationships and accelerate product awareness. For more information, visit www.us.clarionevents.com.
 
Gift for Life was founded by Peter Schauben of Appleman Schauben in 1992 in response to the tragic loss of industry lives to AIDS. The organization’s first meeting at the National Stationery Show brought together a cross-section of the industry’s leading publishers, market centers, sales reps, manufacturers and retailers – all willing to convene and work together towards a common goal. Since that time, Gift for Life has raised nearly $6 million for AIDS research, education, treatment and care through nationwide at-market events, cause marketing programs and direct donations. With COVID-19 temporarily causing cancelation of in-person events at industry markets, Gift for Life has pivoted towards online digital events for the balance of 2021, with a specific emphasis on COVID-related hunger relief. Adam Glassman, creative director of Oprah Daily, serves as Gift for Life’s 2021 honorary chair and spokesperson. More information is available at www.giftforlife.org.
 

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Media Contacts:
Gift for Life, Cathy Steel, cathysteel@cathysteelassociates.com, 203-340-9251
Clarion Events, Samantha Grimaldi, samantha.grimaldi@clarionevents.com, 203-556-0042