As part of our commitment to diversity and inclusion, Children’s Minnesota is organizing events and a ‘donate your lunch’ fundraiser in honor of Ramadan.

The Muslim employee resource group here at Children’s, in partnership with the Children’s Minnesota Foundation, will be promoting the ‘donate your lunch’ fundraiser to raise support for MATTERboxes, through the Family Resource Center. All families who find themselves at our hospitals and are in need of nutritional support are eligible to receive MATTERboxes.

Donate your lunch
During Ramadan, from May 6 through June 4, 2019, Children’s employees and other community members are able to donate $5 for a lunch or give the gift of multiple lunches to a Children’s family who is food insecure.

Click here to donate now!

Donations make a difference
Children’s Food Pantry program, located in the Family Resource Centers at Children’s Minneapolis and St. Paul hospitals, supports the nutritional needs of all families who find themselves at our hospitals. Families are able to have microwaveable or just-add-hot-water entrées and snacks at no cost, while staying near their child. Families referred to the Food Pantry by care providers as “food insecure” also receive take-home groceries in the form of MATTERboxes which include healthy meal ingredients, nutritious snacks, shopping lists and recipes.

Last year, Children’s Food Pantries provided 3,991 meals and distributed 544 take-home MATTERboxes across both hospital campuses.

About Ramadan
Muslims believe that experiencing hunger and thirst on a temporary basis allows them to put themselves in the shoes of the less fortunate. During the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims fast by refraining from food and drink from dawn to sunset. In Ramadan, Muslims strive to maintain a heightened level of self-control through acts such as avoiding disagreements, anger and greed. Abstaining from these acts is a test of willpower, patience and resilience. Through fasting and increased acts of worship, Ramadan is a time for purification.

To learn more about Ramadan, watch this video with CEO Marc Gorelick, MD, and our Muslim employee resource group members, Siman Nuurali and Samreen Vora, MD.