Visit Anaheim Coordinates Donation of Unused
Meeting Supplies to Local Nonprofit

Nearly 6,000 Reusable Bags Intended for Anaheim Convention
Center Attendees to be Used to Distribute Food to Local Families

 

ANAHEIM, Calif. (May 18, 2020) ― Visit Anaheim, the official destination organization for Anaheim, today coordinated the donation of nearly 6,000 unused meeting bags to a local nonprofit to assist in its distribution of food to local youth and families in need. Upon the cancellation of the Society of Toxicology’s (SOT) event, Visit Anaheim ensured available supplies for the community did not go to waste.

Serving as the conduit between its customers, partners and community, Visit Anaheim worked with the Society of Toxicology, Transportation Charter Services and Anaheim White House to make the donation a reality. To get the SOT bags to Anaheim, Transportation Charter Services donated a vehicle and driver to transport the items from Ontario to the Anaheim White House. The Anaheim White House, which provides meals to local families through its nonprofit Caterina’s Club, will use the bags to deliver and distribute food to those in need throughout the community.

“In the wake of event cancellations and postponements due to COVID-19, our convention center groups like Society of Toxicology continue to find a way to have a positive impact on our local community and their generosity continues to be felt throughout our city,” said Jay Burress, president & CEO, Visit Anaheim. “Connecting and uniting Visit Anaheim’s partners and stakeholders for the benefit of our destination remains our highest priority as we navigate these unprecedented times.”

Booked by Visit Anaheim, the SOT’s 59th Annual Meeting & ToxExpo was scheduled for March, 2020 at the Anaheim Convention Center. Prior to cancelling, the group was looking forward to providing its members a chance to visit and interact with local businesses, restaurants, and more.

“The Society was disappointed that the COVID-19 pandemic prevented our planned event in Anaheim, so we are pleased to be able to support the Anaheim community through the donation of nearly 6,000 meeting bags to Caterina’s Club and the Boys & Girls Clubs to help deliver meals to families in need,” said George P. Daston, PhD, SOT President 2020–2021.

Established in 2005, Caterina’s Club was founded by Chef Bruno Serato of the Anaheim White House to serve free dinners to children in need. Even with the temporary closure of Anaheim White House, Caterina’s Club has still found a way to serve more than 545,000 meals to local families over the last couple of months.

Simply put by Chef Bruno, “no child should go to bed hungry.”

To learn more about Visit Anaheim’s efforts to ensure the city recovers quickly and is best positioned to restore hotel stays, meetings, and conventions in Anaheim go to visitanaheim.org/response-and-recovery.

Visit Anaheim Contact:
Lindsay Swanson, Communications Manager
lswanson@visitanaheim.org
(714) 765-2928

About Visit Anaheim: 
Founded in 1961, Visit Anaheim is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit destination marketing organization. Visit Anaheim’s mission is to develop, market, and sell Anaheim to benefit the economic vitality of its neighborhoods. To learn more about Visit Anaheim, visit: www.visitanaheim.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

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