15 Year Old Boca Twins Expand Non-profit Nationally, Plan Cereal Drive

Boca Teen Twins to Collect Thousands of Pounds of Cereal for Boca Helping Hands During Annual Cereal Drive

Boca Raton, FL – Cereal4All, which runs an annual cereal drive organized by twin brothers Jett and Luke Justin, hopes to collect more than 3,000 pounds during its annual cereal drive this Spring and donate it to Boca Helping Hands (BHH). This donation means that Boca Helping Hands will be able to provide clients with approximately 30,000 bowls of cereal. The Justins, 15-year-old twin brothers and Boca Raton residents, attend American Heritage School in Palm Beach County. 

New this year, the Justin brothers have expanded their organization nationally to have schools in Connecticut, Arizona, New York, Nevada, Washington, and California organize Cereal4All cereal drives to benefit local food banks in those areas.

The Justin brothers have recently established partnerships with other businesses. Target will donate gift cards to participating schools to buy school supplies. Publix will provide cereal parties for K-5 schools’ top-donating classrooms; the Miami Heat will provide game tickets for students donating to drives, chosen through a drawing; and Rapids Water Park will provide tickets for a drawing.

“We created Cereal4all to fight hunger around America’s breakfast tables because millions of American families suffer from food insecurity, which means they can’t always afford enough meals for everyone in their homes. Those families depend on food banks to help ease their hunger issues. Since breakfast food is one of the least donated items to food banks, that means pantry bags of meals distributed to families in need are often missing breakfast food,” said Luke Justin.

Local schools participating in the cereal drive include Village Academy Center in Delray, Calusa Elementary, Sunrise Park Elementary, St. Joan of Arc Catholic School, Morikami Park Elementary, Whispering Pines Elementary, Grandview Preparatory School, West Boca High School, Katz Hillel Day School, FAU Community Service Club, Boca Raton Elementary, Addison Mizner School, and Blue Lake Elementary.

“My brother and I learned about the breakfast food shortage in 2016 while volunteering in the food bank at Boca Helping Hands, and it had a big effect on us because, like most young people, we love cereal. Cereal is about breakfast, but it’s also about happiness, so we were bothered by the reality that millions of families and kids might not have daily access to breakfast and that moment of happiness in their day,” said Jett Justin.

Jett and Luke organized their first cereal drive for BHH in 2016 at their school, Calusa Elementary, when they were just eight years old. Despite their busy high school schedules and being active members in the Boca Raton Civil Air Patrol Squadron, the Justin brothers devote a significant amount of time to working on Cereal4all so they can expand their impact and help provide even more relief to families struggling with food insecurity.

“Running a nonprofit can be hard work, but Cereal4all is one of the most fulfilling things my brother and I do. There’s really no better feeling than making a positive difference in someone else’s life,” said Luke Justin.

About Boca Helping Hands

Now in its 25^th year of operation, Boca Helping Hands (BHH) is a community-based nonprofit that provides food, medical and financial assistance to meet basic human needs as well as education, job training and guidance to create self-sufficiency. Through its various programs, BHH assists over 27,000 people annually.

Boca Helping Hands is a partner agency of The Town of Palm Beach United Way. Since 1945, the Town of Palm Beach United Way has been committed to improving lives and building strong communities throughout Palm Beach County by focusing on programs and priorities that promote education, health, and financial stability.

Boca Helping Hands holds accreditation for Sound Nonprofit Management from Nonprofits First, has a 2022 Gold Seal of Transparency from Candid/GuideStar, and was named a Four-Star Charity by Charity Navigator for the 16th consecutive year in 2022. Boca Helping Hands is located at 1500 NW 1st Court, Boca Raton, FL 33432. For more information, please visit BocaHelpingHands.org.

About Cereal4All

Cereal4all is a youth-run 501(c)3 nonprofit fighting hunger around America’s breakfast tables that works with schools and businesses to organize cereal drives to ensure food banks can offer breakfast to disadvantaged children and families. Through the organization’s cereal drives and other community projects, they raise awareness about hunger issues, promote volunteerism at an early age, and help feed households struggling to secure a meal in the morning.