Susan Wright, executive director and founder of summerlunch+, has spent the last decade bridging the gap between school-year nutrition programs and the long, often vulnerable months of summer. She created a program that not only nourishes kids with healthy meals but also empowers them to cook, connect with others, and build lifelong habits for well-being.
Since launching ten years ago, summerlunch+ has reached thousands of families across Ontario, CA. With a growing reach and impact, they needed support to keep pace with the demand for their programs, especially as they looked to secure more consistent, multi-year donors to sustain and expand programs like their upcoming program to support children with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Through a Common Impact skills-based volunteering (SBV) engagement with Manulife and John Hancock, a team of marketing and communications professionals helped summerlunch+ refine their LinkedIn presence and develop strategies to better reach and engage potential long-term funders.
In this spotlight interview, Susan shares more about summerlunch+’s growth and mission, and what she’s learned from SBV through Common Impact.
One of the unexpected benefits of participating in the SBV program was how it opened the door for deeper connections. In fact, one of the volunteers stayed around and is now a board member.
How does summerlunch+ close the achievement gap through nutrition and engaging programs?
When I worked at Breakfast Clubs of Canada, a charitable organization dedicated to providing nutritious breakfasts to children across the country during the school year. I’d often get asked in the spring if we could support families, community centers, summer camps, or summer schools during the summer. But we couldn’t.
After two springs of saying no, I realized it was a bigger problem than I thought. So I started summerlunch+ with the goal of bridging that gap. As I researched more, I learned how the summer months can have a negative impact on kids academically, socially, and mentally. Summer can actually be a more vulnerable time for kids.
If families can’t afford summer camp or structured activities, kids are often left on their own. That can lead to loneliness, food insecurity, and even risky behaviors. Families already struggling during the school year find it even harder in the summer, especially with added childcare and food costs. Our program provides meal kits and teaches kids food skills over the summer. They’re guaranteed at least one solid, nutritious meal each week. But they’re also learning how to cook, how to shop, and build social skills through our Google Classroom and cooking classes.
One requirement is that a parent must accompany the child during cooking classes. This ensures safety while also creating meaningful family time. The feedback we receive consistently tells us that kids love quality time with their parents, and this is a fun way to spend an hour together. In addition to this social benefit, the children and their families learn about nutrition, cooking, and meal planning, which they can implement into their home lives. And there’s a lifelong benefit because kids learn healthy life skills.
Can you share an example of someone or a group who benefited from summerlunch+’s programs?
When we launched summerlunch+ ten years ago, we started in a community called Thorncliffe Park. There was a family I met that first year. A mother and her four kids. They participated for about five years, and I got to know them well.
Three years ago, her eldest son approached me about a Canada Summer Jobs opportunity. I hired him, and he’s worked with us the last three summers. He went from being an eight-year-old participant to being a staff member.
Can you speak to the specific challenge you brought to the Manulife/John Hancock SBV event?
We wanted to grow our partner base and fundraising efforts to meet the rising demand for our programs and ensure every family who wants to participate can. We left the challenge somewhat open for the Manulife volunteers to bring creative ideas to the table that could help us raise the additional funding needed. Since the group came from different areas of the business, they offered innovative suggestions, some of which we’ve already implemented. The challenge was essentially: how do we grow in a way that we can fund it all?
What key takeaways or strategies did you gain from that collaboration?
One idea was to tap into our alumni network. Not just youth who’ve benefited from the program, but past volunteers and donors, too. I’ll admit, I haven’t been great about keeping in touch with former donors. Sometimes I hesitate to ask folks who gave $25 or $100 to give again.
This summer, we launched a campaign to reconnect with everyone who has been part of our journey. We’re celebrating our tenth anniversary by inviting them to rejoin our mission. One of our Canada Summer Jobs students is leading the outreach. It’s been an opportunity to rekindle relationships, share stories, and remind people that they are an essential part summerlunch+.
Another suggestion was to track our grocery gift cards. We send them to families every week, but we hadn’t been following up to make sure they were used. This spring, we discovered $5,000 in unused cards. We reclaimed those and redistributed them to families this summer. That was a great tip.
One of the unexpected benefits of participating in the SBV program was how it opened the door for deeper connections. In fact, one of the volunteers stuck around and is now a board member. That connection grew into a meaningful partnership with someone who’s now offering their guidance to the work we do.
How was your experience working with Common Impact staff to design and support your skills-based volunteering project?
The Common Impact team created a strong structure for the volunteers and for me, so I knew how to make the day as successful as possible. They led everyone through the process in a really thorough and thoughtful way. By the time we got to the actual project, everyone knew exactly what to do. The volunteers were clear on expectations, and the event was very well coordinated and well supported. It made for an amazing day.
What makes skills-based volunteering uniquely valuable for nonprofits like summerlunch+ compared to traditional volunteering?
We engage volunteers all the time, but in different ways. Some do one-off tasks like packing meal kits. We also have student placements, mainly nutrition students, who contribute through their training. Most of our employees are also young nutritionists.
Skills-based volunteering brought to us the expertise and perspective of seasoned professionals. These business-minded volunteers came from backgrounds in design, data management, reporting, HR, and more, and they approached our challenges with a strategic mindset. It’s not a resource my team or I always have, and their insights gave us a sharper, more strategic view of our operations. Now we can apply that perspective to propel us forward in expanding our partnerships and fundraising efforts.
Any final thoughts you’d like to share about your sbv experience or summerlunch+’s work?
A lot of small charities don’t get opportunities like this. These kinds of partnerships usually go to the big-name nonprofits that are already on the radar. But it’s the smaller organizations that benefit the most. When you help a small nonprofit like ours, the lift is transformational. There are so many small nonprofits that could really use this kind of support. It would be great to see more of this work directed our way.
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