Back in December, we announced our Driver Grant Program — an initiative that supports drivers who are creating meaningful change in their communities through education, civic engagement, and philanthropic work. Since applications first opened, we received submissions from delivery partners across the country who allowed us a glimpse into their lives and their passions for making a difference within their communities.
We were overwhelmed by the stories that poured in and read countless submissions that touched us — from people serving those less fortunate in their communities, to providing mentorship opportunities and resources for local youth, to drawing attention to the link between deforestation and food insecurity. Every submission had one common theme: our delivery partners have huge hearts and an unwavering drive to help others.
“It was absolutely inspiring to see the many responses and countless examples of valuable work from our drivers across the country. We’re proud that this program will be a stepping stone for drivers who are making positive change within their communities,” said Eric Ferguson, Grubhub’s chief operations officer. “We’re looking forward to seeing all the great things drivers do with these grants and continuing our efforts this year to fund what fuels our drivers.”
Today, we’re excited to announce the first 20 recipients of this program and how they plan to use their $10,000 grants.
Bill R. — Huntington, WV
With this grant money, Bill plans to help upgrade Kiwanis Daycare — which serves low-income children and is the oldest continuously operating daycare in West Virginia.
BriYanna G. — Cleveland, OH
BriYanna plans to use the grant money to build and maintain a website for Ravenella — a marketplace she created for people to support Black-owned fashion lines.
Chad E. — Chicago, IL
Passionate about art, Chad will rent an art studio space to mentor youth in the Chicago area and feed their artistic passions, including graphic design and audio production. He would also like to purchase a screen printing machine and 3D printer so the artists he mentors can make their own products.
Destiny P. — Detroit, MI
Destiny plans to continue her work with local no-kill and animal rescue shelters by funding more reliable transportation for injured dogs and cats so that they can be cared for.
Joanna L. — Pittsburgh, PA
Joanna will use her grant to support Cup-A-Jo Productions — an artists’ collaborative theater she founded that explores non-traditional venues and mixes theatre with film, dance, music and poetry.
Joanne D. — California, MD
Joanne plans to use the grant to purchase additional food for a local nonprofit, S.O.L.D.I.E.R.S OUTREACH — Kids Eat Free.
Judy H. — Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
Using her grant funds, Judy will expand her work to help the homeless population in her area, including increasing her budget to provide more supplies.
Kendal M. — Covington, GA
Kendal will use his grant to donate and fund additional academic scholarships through The Brother Sister Campaign — a nonprofit organization he founded that’s dedicated to promoting growth and hope to underserved children.
Mary D. — Colorado Springs, CO
Mary plans to use the grant money to fund a retreat for Finding Our Voices — a nonprofit that empowers survivors of sexual assault to thrive by offering creative activities and healing events.
Mike B. — Birmingham, AL
With the grant, Mike plans to purchase supplies and other resources for his high school students and complete his master’s degree in English.
Musasizi J. — Chicago, IL
Musasizi plans to use the grant money to facilitate campaigns that encourage and educate people to shift from using firewood and charcoal fuels to liquefied petroleum gas in developing parts of the world, where deforestation is impacting food security.
Nicholas S. — Houston, TX
Nicholas plans to expand his personal training and fitness business, including opening a larger fitness facility where he can continue to offer personalized training while also offering a general open space for people looking to train by themselves.
Peter A. — Poughkeepsie, NY
Peter plans to use his grant to support his two communities: Poughkeepsie, New York and Kuna, Kamagambo, Kenya. In Poughkeepsie, he will provide supplies, including winter coats and food, for the local homeless population. And in Kuna, he will work toward building a library and a learning center.
Pousbila O. — St. Louis, MO
Pousbila will support the African Youth Development Foundation, in addition to helping cover the cost of school registration fees, and health and food plans for vulnerable children in Burkina Faso throughout the school year.
Romel D. — Jacksonville, FL
Romel runs The Jax Tutor — a tutoring company focused on math, and he’ll use the funds to promote the service and reach more students.
Rosalie J. — Jeffersonville, IN
Rosalie plans to use the grant money to grow her business that she uses to help fund warm clothing to local children in need and finish paying off her master’s degree in early childhood education.
Simple K. — Virginia Beach, VA
Simple, who runs a mentorship program called Arise Africa, will use the grant money to build a school and buy supplies for the children in his program.
Tameka W. — Evansville, IN
Tameka plans to use the grant to support the Inner City Youth Basketball League for Kids and fund a center for Mother’s Holdin’ It Down — a group she started to connect with other single mothers, share resources and provide support to local families in need.
Terrell B. — Davenport, IA
Terrell plans to use the grant to establish a community resource for supporting personal and spiritual development.
Theresa N. — Indianapolis, IN
Theresa will use the grant funds to purchase a food truck so that she can feed men and women in her community who are less fortunate and share her ministry with them.
Check back in the spring for more information on our next round of grants and application details.
The good news keeps on coming…
Remember how we said we were overwhelmed by the stories from our delivery partners that poured in? There was no shortage of amazing submissions that touched us, and we’re excited to announce today that we’re giving an additional 10 recipients grants thanks to our diners who tweeted their support of our drivers with our #lovedelivered efforts in February. When diners showed their love, we supported the Driver Grant Program with $1 per tweet up to $100,000.
Meet our additional 10 recipients below and read how they plan to use the grant money to drive change in their communities!
Alyssa L. — Bel Air/Aberdeen, MD
A single mom to four kids, Alyssa has a heart for children and a passion for social work. She will use the grant money to continue her education and get a degree in social work.
Imari R. — Chesterfield, MI
Imari plans to use her grant money to launch the Random Love Project—an initiative that will support the homeless population in Michigan through the gifting of free meals and grocery stipends.
Jeffrey J. — Portland, OR
A photographer and filmmaker, Jeffrey finds purpose by connecting those in his community with nature, especially during these challenging times when mental health is so important. An avid fly fisher in his spare time, Jeffrey plans to use the grant money to create an informative video series of the best places to fish in Portland and the surrounding area in hopes other people find enjoyment in the sport as well during these times.
Jillian K. — Seattle, WA
Jillian is the founder of Ginger Gears, a robotics education company that works to combat underrepresentation in the STEAM field. With the grant money, Jillian wants to invest in workshop space for classes, camps and training for Ginger Gears students.
Jonah K. — Detroit, MI
Currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in religious studies, Jonah wants to use the grant money to conduct research about the religious minority communities in the Middle East and Eastern Europe and fund his doctorate degree in the field.
Jonathan M. — Des Moines, IA
With this grant money, Jonathan will pursue his dream of getting a Secondary Education Teaching certificate so that he can teach mentally challenged and disabled children in his community.
Kevin S. — Wilkes-Barre, PA
Kevin will use the grant money to create a permanent home for Diamond City Sports’ youth and adult flag football leagues and renovate their wiffle ball field.
Mohammad D. — Milwaukee, WI
Passionate about cooking, Mohammad will use the grant money to purchase a food truck so that he can spread his love for cooking with others in nearby communities.
Robert H. — Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
With this grant money, Robert plans to get his non-profit that helps homeless veterans off of the ground through marketing and website development so that he can spread its message and reach more people in need.
Timothy C. — Richmond, VA
A middle school counselor, Timothy will use this money to fund programs for students at his school who are interested in STEM.
Check back in the spring for more information on our next round of grants and application details. If you’re interested in driving with us you can learn more at driver.grubhub.com.
