Courtesy Jim Bennett Photo Bakery for Bumbershoot
Third Stone Executive Director Camilla Walter addresses the crowd. Third Stone is Bumbershoot’ s nonprofit arm.
Bumbershoot Arts & Music Festival and Amazon have revealed plans for “Bumbershoot Gives Back, Powered by Amazon,” an initiative that will donate 90,000 pounds of food to local food banks and connect fans with meaningful opportunities to improve their communities. Participating fans can receive Bumbershoot tickets and exclusive merchandise.
This summer, 2,000 2-day tickets to the 2024 festival from Aug. 31 to Sept. 1 at Seattle Center will be available to individuals who dedicate their time to selected community-based organizations focusing on food insecurity. In addition, Bumbershoot will soon launch a virtual food drive. Those interested can learn more and find volunteer opportunities at Bumbershoot.com/givesback.
Details of the partnership were unveiled at the Asian Counseling & Referral Service’s (ACRS) Food Bank in the Chinatown-International District. At the kickoff, an Amazon delivery vehicle containing a portion of an initial donation of 30,000 pounds of food was unloaded by Amazon volunteers. Bumbershoot nonprofit Third Stone’s Executive Director Camilla Walter, Amazon’s Senior Manager for Community Engagement Taylor Hoang, and ACRS’ Deputy Director G. De Castro provided remarks.
“Bumbershoot Gives Back is yet another example of how Bumbershoot is showing up for our community by using our influence to impact change,” said Camilla Walter, Executive Director of Third Stone, Bumbershoot’s nonprofit arm. “We thank Amazon for its continued support of Bumbershoot, and are excited to partner again with a renewed focus on addressing the issue of food insecurity in our region. We look forward to engaging thousands of volunteers throughout the community, who will receive tickets to the festival in exchange for their service via this innovative program.”
As part of the Bumbershoot Gives Back partnership, Amazon and Bumbershoot will donate 90,000 pounds of food to regional food banks.
This program is an effort by both organizations to combat food insecurity in Western Washington, an issue that affects over 1.5 million people in the region. Bumbershoot will soon launch a virtual food drive organized by nonprofit hunger relief organization Conscious Alliance, where a limited edition poster will be available by donation before and at the festival, with each donation providing 80 meals contributing toward the program.
“We’re proud of our investments across Seattle and the Puget Sound region over the last 30 years, and as we continue to grow, so does our responsibility to the places where we live and work,” said David Zapolsky, Senior Vice President, Global Public Policy and General Counsel for Amazon. “Amazon is committed to working with our partners to find creative solutions that empower our community. This year, we’re excited to be working with an iconic local institution like Bumbershoot to have our sponsorship support critical needs in the region. Through this work, our impact will result in thousands of volunteers mobilizing across the Puget Sound while we infuse local food banks with 90,000 pounds of food.”
Volunteer opportunities at the following community-based organizations are available for sign-up:
• Asian Counseling & Referral Service
• North Helpline
• University District Food Bank
• Rainier Valley Food Bank
• Pike Market Senior Center & Food Bank
• Tilth Alliance
vTeen Feed
Learn more and give back at Bumbershoot.com/givesback. The limited-edition poster that will raise money for meals for those in need will be available in August.