In 2023, Dale retired as Founder and Executive Director of Serving Our Kids and entrusted me with carrying his vision forward. It has been one of the greatest honors of my life to continue growing the mission he began.

Today, because of the unwavering support of our sponsors, donors, volunteers, community partners, and Board of Directors, Serving Our Kids continues to fulfill that vision. I am incredibly proud to share that this school year we will provide more than 6,000 weekend meal bags each week to children experiencing food insecurity throughout Southern Nevada.

This milestone belongs to every person who has believed in our mission. Thank you to every volunteer, donor, sponsor, community partner, and board member whose generosity, compassion, and dedication have made this achievement possible. Together, we are changing lives, one weekend meal bag at a time.

As I prepare to retire from my role as Volunteer CEO later this year, I find myself reflecting on the incredible people who have made this journey so meaningful. It has truly been a privilege to serve alongside so many compassionate individuals who share one common goal: ensuring no child goes hungry.

Your generosity, encouragement, partnership, and friendship have meant more to me than words can express. Together, we have made a lasting difference in the lives of thousands of children, and I have every confidence that the future of Serving Our Kids has never been brighter.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for believing in our mission and for allowing me to be part of this extraordinary journey.

With sincere gratitude,

Laurie Tanakaya
Volunteer CEO
Serving Our Kids Foundation

Are you passionate about strengthening our community and ensuring local children have the food they need to thrive?

Serving on the Serving Our Kids Foundation Board of Directors is an opportunity to use your professional expertise, leadership, and passion to make a lasting impact on the lives of children throughout Southern Nevada.

Our Board of Directors provides strategic leadership, helps guide the organization’s future, and works alongside an incredible team of volunteers, staff, and community partners committed to ending childhood hunger. Whether your background is in business, finance, legal, education, healthcare, marketing, or community leadership, your experience can help shape the future of our organization.

If you’re ready to make a meaningful difference, we’d love to hear from you.

Please submit your résumé and a brief statement explaining why you’d like to serve to Jennifer Wilson at jenniferw@servingourkids.com by September 15. Together, we can nourish more children, strengthen more families, and build a brighter future for our community.

At Serving Our Kids, we know that fighting childhood hunger takes more than food, it takes committed partners who believe every child deserves the opportunity to succeed. We’re proud to shine the spotlight on NV Energy, whose generosity and hands-on volunteerism are helping us make an even greater impact as students return to school.

To kick off the 2026–2027 school year, hundreds of NV Energy employees will rise before dawn to pack 18,000 weekend meal bags during a two-day volunteer event. Their incredible effort will help expand our weekend meal bag program from 4,500 to more than 6,000 meal bags each week, ensuring thousands more food-insecure children across Southern Nevada have nutritious meals to take home over the weekend.

For many children, Friday afternoon means uncertainty about where their next meal will come from. Thanks to partners like NV Energy, those children can head home with the nourishment they need to return to school on Monday ready to learn, grow, and thrive.

As our CEO Laurie Tanakaya shared, “Every meal bag we pack together is a promise kept to a child who might otherwise start the school year hungry. We’re so grateful that NV Energy’s employees show up before sunrise, ready to work, because they understand what a weekend meal bag can mean to a child walking into that first day of school.”

NV Energy’s commitment extends far beyond financial support. Their culture of volunteerism inspires employees across the company to give back, strengthen their communities, and make a lasting difference in the lives of local children.

We are deeply grateful to NV Energy, the NV Energy Foundation, and every employee who volunteers their time. Together, we’re ensuring that more children in Southern Nevada have access to the nutrition they need, not just during the school day, but every weekend.

Thank you, NV Energy, for helping us feed dreams and fuel brighter futures.

Throughout her distinguished career, Michalle has led some of the region’s most respected nonprofit organizations, including Ronald McDonald House Northern Nevada, SafeQuest Solano, Child Haven, and the Sierra Association of Foster Families. Her experience spans strategic leadership, fundraising, community partnerships, and advocacy, all centered on improving the lives of children and families.

As Serving Our Kids continues to grow, Michalle’s leadership comes at an exciting time. With our expansion to provide more than 6,000 weekend meal bags each week to food-insecure children across the Las Vegas Valley, she will help guide the organization into its next chapter of service and impact.

“I am deeply honored to join Serving Our Kids Foundation and to work alongside a team so passionately dedicated to making a meaningful difference in the lives of children and families,” Michalle said. “I look forward to expanding our reach so that every food-insecure child throughout the Las Vegas Valley has something to eat on the weekends.”

Board Chairman Gregory Hogan shared his confidence in the Foundation’s future, “Michalle’s breadth of experience, her passion for mission-driven work, and her remarkable record of results make her the ideal leader to take Serving Our Kids Foundation into its next chapter.”

Please join us in welcoming Michalle Hoehn to the Serving Our Kids family. We are excited for the future and confident that, under her leadership, we will continue to expand our reach and strengthen our community partnerships.

At Serving Our Kids, we believe the strongest partnerships are built by people who don’t just tell the story, they become part of it.

This summer, we were proud to welcome KTNV Channel 13 as one of our newest community partners. Their team rolled up their sleeves during a Day of Service, packing an incredible 3,000 weekend meal bags for local children facing food insecurity. In just a few hours, they helped ensure thousands of students will have nutritious meals to take home over the weekend.

But their impact didn’t stop there.

Following their volunteer event, Channel 13 shared our mission with viewers across Southern Nevada through a featured news story, helping raise awareness about childhood hunger and inspiring others to get involved. By combining volunteerism with the power of local media, KTNV is helping us reach more families, more volunteers, and more supporters who can make a difference.

As Executive Director Michalle Hoehn shared during the interview, “We’re fighting childhood food insecurity in our county, and we depend on partners like Channel 13 to get us there.”

The partnership was equally meaningful to the KTNV team.

Following the event, Vice President & General Manager John Cook shared, “We are so proud to partner with Serving Our Kids and help spread the word about your great work.”

We extend our heartfelt thanks to the entire KTNV Channel 13 team for donating their time, sharing their talents, and using their platform to shine a light on the issue of childhood hunger. We are excited to build on this partnership and continue working together to ensure more children throughout Southern Nevada have the food they need to learn, grow, and succeed.

Welcome to the Serving Our Kids family, Channel 13!

The campaign began with Diazo’s pledge to match your donations, dollar-for-dollar, up to $10,000, and double their impact. But so many of our SOK Crusaders responded that Diazo increased their matching pledge to $15,000, with a new goal of raising $30,000 to help feed food-insecure elementary and middle school children in Clark County.

“We didn’t want to simply write a check,” said Laura Long, Diazo’s Founder and CEO.
“We wanted to create momentum and make an immediate, measurable impact on the children who need it most.”

Thanks to you, we received $16,653 in donations during the campaign. Diazo’s matching contribution brought the grand total to $33,306. That’s an incredible result. But what does this mean for the children SOK serves?

Your $16,653 Donations +

Diazo’s $16,653 Match =

$33,306 In Total Donations.

$33,306 = 12,336 Meal Bags

For The Children We Serve

Diazo provides comprehensive investment, retirement and multi-generational wealth planning services. And they’re committed to strengthening the Southern Nevada community through purposeful leadership, philanthropy and strategic partnership.

Diazo has been a long-time SOK supporter. They have provided invaluable financial donations, donated furniture for our offices, and sponsored key fundraising events. Their team volunteers to create weekend meal bags and deliver them to our local schools.

“Serving Our Kids is deeply grateful to the Diazo team for everything they do to help us fight child hunger in our community,” said SOK CEO Laurie Tanakaya. “Their generosity and commitment gives me great confidence that we will eventually win this fight.”