Willo invites you and your family to help pack weekend meal bags for children in need. This is a rewarding way to give back to the community. You will work in an assembly line with other volunteers to fill weekend meal bags. Please note that children must be 14 and accompanied by an adult. If your child is under 14, stay tuned because we will have more volunteer opportunities!

Details:

Date: October 15th, 2026 from 6-8 pm

Location: 346 Main Avenue, Norwalk CT

Age: Parents + children ages 14 and up

Attire: Wear closed toe shoes and comfortable clothing because you will be working in a warehouse.

About Filling in the Blanks:
Filling in the Blanks fights childhood hunger by providing children in need with meals on the weekend.

Mothers and community activists Shawnee Knight and Tina Kramer founded Filling in the Blanks in 2013 when they learned that over 34,000 children in Fairfield County alone were experiencing food insecurity.

They observed that children receiving free or reduced meals at school faced a looming meal gap every weekend. Marrying their loves of community, children, food, and philanthropy, they designed a weekend meal bag program to “Fill in the Blank.”

What started with 50 students in one school now serves 10,000 and counting at over 200 sites throughout Fairfield, Westchester, and Putnam counties, in-school pantries and a mobile pantry providing fresh food and connection to needed services.

Filling in the Blanks has delivered over FOUR MILLION meals to local families and continues to find new ways to serve the community.

Through her groundbreaking research, award-wining journalist and bestselling author Jennifer Breheny Wallace explores how mattering – the feeling that we are valued and can add value – is a core human need that is just as essential as food and water.

She identifies the essential elements of the mattering core, which include knowing that you are valued, relied upon (but not too much), significant, cared for, and deeply understood, and discusses how each element is important whether you’re an overwhelmed caregiver, burned-out employee, struggling through a transition, or grappling with grief.

Order your copy of Mattering and join us on Thursday, October 22nd at 7pm for dinner and discussion at The Owl in Georgetown as we explore how mattering impacts the way in which we show up for ourselves, our families, and our community.

This is a small roundtable discussion co-hosted by Jennifer Bernheim, founder of Willo, and Natalie Ponte, owner of Schmendrick’s Bookshop. Registration is free. There’s a minimum spend of $25 per person for dinner and drinks.

You can order your copy of Mattering from Schmendrick’s Bookshop. Orders can be picked up or, if you’re in Weston, we will deliver.

Please remember that space is very limited so if your plans change, kindly advise us so we can offer the spot to others. Thanks!

Through her groundbreaking research, award-wining journalist and bestselling author Jennifer Breheny Wallace explores how mattering – the feeling that we are valued and can add value – is a core human need that is just as essential as food and water.

She identifies the essential elements of the mattering core, which include knowing that you are valued, relied upon (but not too much), significant, cared for, and deeply understood, and discusses how each element is important whether you’re an overwhelmed caregiver, burned-out employee, struggling through a transition, or grappling with grief.

Order your copy of Mattering and join us virtually on Thursday, October 29th at 7pm as we explore how mattering impacts the way in which we show up for ourselves, our families, and our community.

This discussion will be co-hosted by Jennifer Bernheim, founder of Willo, and Natalie Ponte, owner of Schmendrick’s Bookshop. Registration is free. You will receive the zoom link one day prior to the virtual event.