September 8th, 2019: In Hershey, PA, Harry Styles made a donation to Gemma’s Angels. Indeed, Harry had chosen to donate to 59 local charities during his world tour, using the profits of the sale of his Treat People with Kindness merchandise and part of the proceeds coming from the sale of the tickets.
Gemma’s Angels is a nonprofit organization that works to support individuals and families facing poverty, hunger and the prospect of no housing. This nonprofit organization was founded in honor and memory of Gemma Rose Macchioni
(April 21, 1923 – February 28, 2007) by Michael, one of her sons. Gemma had lost her husband at the age of 40 and had to raise five children on her own. Despite the struggles, Gemma had a bright generous spirit that brought her to always help others. She was of Italian descent and an amazing cook. So Gemma cooked for her family, friends, and even strangers. Her pies, in particular, were well known in her neighborhood and fed from the poorest to foreign diplomats. Especially during the holidays, people would congregate at her house to enjoy her food and each other company. Another passion of Gemma was crocheting and her generosity was apparent in this hobby of hers too. She would crochet a warm scarf or sweater for anybody in need of these items. Her last project before passing was to hand-crochet over 100 pairs of slippers for the children of two orphanages in Makiivka, Donetsk, Ukraine. She felt a special connection to these orphanages because two of her grandchildren, Zane and Liana, were adopted from there.
Gemma’s Angels, which has been operative since 2006, works in the belief that “Poverty should never be an obstacle to eating fresh fruits and vegetables.” Thus, this nonprofit distributes fresh fruit and vegetables, which are either donated or purchased, to shelters, food pantries, and nursing homes in the Hershey area. The distribution is done via their Mobile Farmer’s Market, a refurbished school bus that is now being used by Gemma’s Angels for this purpose. Recently, Gemma’s Angels added another program that uses their bus. They have started going to schools, backpack programs, and summer camps, inviting children to pick out a piece of fruit or vegetable of their choice. This new program, which is named All-Kids Mobile Farmer’s Market, hopes to introduce children to fresh produce. The idea is that children are more likely to eat what they choose themselves and consequently they are also more likely to introduce this food to their family.
Another initiative of Gemma’s Angels is the Reverse Food Truck. They send their bus to events around the area such as races, fairs, festivals, sporting events, and collect food instead of selling it. In particular, they collect donations of fresh produce. They also accept monetary donations all of which go towards the purchase of fresh fruit and vegetables that are then distributed to food banks or made available for the All-Kids Mobile Farmer’s Market.
At one of their annual fundraising events held in April, Gemma’s Angels give out an award to a person or organization that has demonstrated in the past year to live by the spirit of generosity of Gemma. This award is a way to commemorate Gemma and to encourage people to follow in her footsteps.
Since the time that Gemma’s Angels was founded, this nonprofit has grown exponentially. You can read all about their accomplishments at this link. If you want to learn how to support Gemma’s Angels, head over to their “Get involved” link.
Pictures shared in this article are either from Gemma’s Angels’ website or from Harry Styles’Twitterr account.
A Charitable Direction 