WISF CAN DO Challenge
Join WISF in Combating Hunger During the Holiday Season
That's a Wrap on the 2024 CAN DO Challenge!
THANK YOU to all who donated their time, funds and support in the 2024 Women in Security Forum (WISF) CAN DO Challenge! Here's a message from WISF UpliftHER Subcommittee Co-Chair Margie Gurwin, founder of Content Creation Partners, on the success of this year's effort:
"This year's CAN DO Challenge to fight food insecurity saw strong participation at the local level. Companies and individuals representing the security industry volunteered to shop for Thanksgiving meals, pack meal boxes, sort food donations at pantry warehouses, serve Thanksgiving Day dinner and spearhead food drives. Altogether, thousands of pounds of food were collected. We also received snack donations at ISC East and over $400 in bulk food purchases for the Philabundance Virtual Food Drive. ISC East News spotlighted WISF's efforts during the event with an on-site interview of UpliftHER subcommittee co-chairs, Margie Gurwin and Katie Krug. After the show, with the help of SAGE Integration, collected food was delivered to the Rauschenbusch Metro Ministries in Hell's Kitchen, just a few blocks from the Javits Center."
Here are some photo highlights, featuring SIA members at SAGE Integration, dormakaba, AK Technologies, Rajant Corporation, Unlimited Technology, Honeywell and Vicon Industries giving back in their communities.
We appreciate all of the individuals and companies who participated in this year's holiday charitable giving initiative! We wish you a happy holiday season and look forward to giving back with you again in the year to come.
About the CAN DO Challenge
The SIA Women in Security Forum (WISF) is calling upon our friends throughout the security industry and beyond to help overcome hunger in America. For our fifth annual CAN DO Challenge, WISF urges each of us to personally make a difference this holiday season.
Simply donate a “can” or “do” an act – like delivering or serving a meal.
CAN DO is about alleviating hunger as part of our industry’s collective commitment to human safety and well-being. We welcome everyone to participate.
How to participate
It's easy to participate! Get involved with a local charity effort and post a picture of your activities on LinkedIn. Inspire others to do the same and make sure to tag #WISFCanDo so we can track participation. Let us know by emailing SIA Charitable Giving Subcommittee Co-Chairs Katie Krug and Margie Gurwin. Tell us the location and name of your company in your message.
Your Help Is Needed
In 2024, food insecurity continues to be a significant issue in the United States. 12.5% of American adults (about 28 million people) live in households were there is often or sometimes not enough food. This is the highest level of food insecurity since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. As primary grocery shoppers and food preparers, women are especially impacted by inflation and rising food prices.
How to Make a difference
CAN DO means getting involved locally.
Support food pantries. Deliver meals. Distribute care packages. This year, we’re making it extra easy to support two exceptional programs.
Philabundance receives a Four Star rating by Charity Navigator and a 100% score for its Impact and Results. It is the largest hunger-relief organization serving the Delaware Valley, feeding more than 135,000 people each week. Visit philabundance.org to go shopping! From pasta to peanuts to pears, you can purchase affordable, healthy food in bulk that will go directly to those in need.
Rauschenbusch Metro Ministries (RMM) provides broad services to New York City's Hell’s Kitchen community (just a few blocks northwest of the Javits Center, where ISC East will take place), including a toiletry and snack distribution program. Snack bags and toiletry kits are available at their door to anyone in need, Monday-Friday, year-round. For the past two years, the WISF CAN DO Challenge collected enough snacks from exhibitors at ISC East to create snack bags that lasted through the end of the holiday season. Again, we encourage exhibitors to pack extra booth snacks that can be donated to RMM at the end of the show.
Additionally, here are a few places you can volunteer:
- Capital Area Food Bank
- City Harvest
- Feeding America
- Foodpantries.org
- Kids Against Hunger
- Loaves and Fishes
- Meals on Wheels
- A Meal With Dignity
- Mission 500
Inspire Others to Make a Difference!
We hope that by sharing acts of giving via social media, and tagging our messages as part of the CAN DO Challenge, we can inspire others to do the same. Our goal is to mobilize the strength of the companies where we work, along with the greater security industry as a whole, to make a meaningful difference in all 50 states.
Get the Word Out!
Use videos and images to challenge others to get involved. Here are some resources to get started:
- Images to inspire others to join the Challenge
- Tips and tricks for social media posts
Going to ISC East?
If your company is exhibiting at ISC East, make sure to pack some healthy snacks for your booth staff, with the plan to donate anything left over to Rauschenbusch Metro Ministries' snack bag program.
Donations made by exhibitors at ISC East 2024 can be accepted at SIA’s ISC East booth, #1037.
Our Impact
In 2023, the fourth year of this initiative, we saw the greatest level of awareness and industrywide involvement yet. Thank you to the CAN DO program sponsors, participating companies, RX Global and dedicated individuals who made a difference in combating food insecurity. Let’s do even more in 2024!
We CAN DO!
We CAN DO!
Volunteers Wanted! Join WISF's UpliftHER Subcommittee
The WISF UpliftHER Subcommittee is currently seeking volunteers to join the subcommittee and support the WISF community’s charitable efforts, including the CAN DO Challenge. Interested individuals can sign up to volunteer here.
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