Violet PR Team Lends a Hand at Toni’s Kitchen in Montclair, New Jersey

Earlier this month, the staff of Violet PR had the privilege of volunteering  at Toni’s Kitchen, a Montclair-based “more than soup” kitchen that works with over 60 community partners to provide healthy meals, and connect guests with financial, health and counseling services seven days a week.

In 2018, Toni’s served over 180,000 meals to the community, treating people who arrive for a hot meal as guests, and serving meals plated restaurant-style. In 2020, that number jumped to over 1 million meals served.

Not only does Toni’s Kitchen provide restaurant-style meals to anyone in-need with no required minimum income, but it also frequently carries an inventory of vitamins, supplements, essential oils, incense, clothing, books, sanitary products and other items not usually associated with traditional soup kitchens.

The employees at Violet PR helped the all-star team at Toni’s Kitchen set up and prepare meals for the day, and briefly assisted guests with bagging their items. We sliced apples for a crumble and enjoyed the savory smells of the food being prepared for dinner, coming from the kitchen.

Volunteering at Toni’s Kitchen kicked off Violet PR’s company retreat and team-building day, which included whole team collaboration on future and current goals for the company, identifying strengths and areas that have opportunities for growth, and a group debrief on an intercultural development inventory assessment that is used to build intercultural competence.

Check out some photos of the VPR team in-action at Toni’s Kitchen and the company retreat:

We are grateful to have had the opportunity to assist Toni’s Kitchen’s hard-working team, and for the overall bonding experience of our company retreat. To learn more about group volunteering at Toni’s Kitchen, visit https://toniskitchen.org/group-volunteering/.

The Latest From Violet PR

As winter comes to a close, we’re excited to share updates about our clients and growing team!

What Our Clients Are Up To

omni circle groupTopeka’s startup community: This month, Omni Circle Group announced $360,000 in funding from a Kauffman Foundation Grant. The organization supports minority-owned startups in Topeka, Kansas by providing community, resources and funding. Learn more, here.

Newark Social’s Winter Village: Newark’s first outdoor public skating rink opened in Mulberry Commons this year. Newark Social’s Winter Village ran from December 1 to January 30. During that time, we secured over 20 stories, driving 7,000 visitors to the rink in just the first month. Read more from MSN, here.

Welcome to the VPR Family

Violet PR began working with several new economic development and tourism clients in the last few months!

     

Exciting Honors to Share!

Our PR campaigns earned national and state-wide awards in 2021. Here’s a recap!

  • PR News Platinum PR Awards
    Winner (Choose Topeka)
  • Ragan’s PR Daily Awards
    Honorable Mention (Choose Topeka)
  • Ragan Communications Media Relations Award – Community Relations Campaign
    Honorable Mention (Choose Topeka)
  • Media Relations
    Winner (Choose Topeka)
  • Public Affairs
    Winner (New Jersey Business Action Center)
  • PR on a Shoestring Budget
    Honorable Mention (ArtPride NJ)
  • Community Relations
    Honorable Mention (Newark Symphony Hall)