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  • March 16, 2025
  • March 17, 2025
  • March 18, 2025

Sunday Welcome Activities

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8:00 am | March 16, 2025

Icon attendees and their 21+ guest may choose one Sunday Welcome Activity during conference registration. Activities have limited spots so sign up before you miss out!

  • Golf at Hermitage Course and Lunch – Hermitage Golf Course
  • Fly Fishing and Lunch – South Hall
  • Axe Throwing and Lunch – South Hall
  • The Best of Nashville – Trolly Tour
  • Singer / Songwriter Workshop and Lunch – With Nashville Recording Artist, Season 2 runner-up, Meghan Lindsey

Start and end times vary for each event.

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Conference Badge Registration

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9:00 am | March 16, 2025

Come get your Icon badge and enjoy some treats between 9 AM – 4 PM.

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Monday Reception

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6:00 pm | March 16, 2025

We’re excited to take over the Country Music Hall of Fame for a private VIP dinner experience. You will get to step inside the history of country music. All the instruments, costumes, rare photos, one-of-a-kind recordings, films and priceless artifacts of the people who shaped country music’s story.

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Opening Reception

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6:00 pm | March 16, 2025

Join us for networking and dinner to kick off Icon 2025 from 6 PM – 9 PM!

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Welcome to the Icon Conference

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8:30 am | March 17, 2025

Steve Yurko, CEO of apexanalytix, will open the conference welcoming the attendees and lay the foundation for exploring breakthrough best practices from industry leaders.

Icon is more than just a place to learn—it’s a space to connect. Build meaningful relationships with global peers through valuable networking opportunities in an inspiring environment. From thought leaders in procurement to financial shared services experts, you’ll engage with a community dedicated to driving value and excellence in your field. Solutions. Relationships. Value.

Welcome to Icon, where your next big idea will take shape!

Executive-Headshots-2024_Steve-Yurko
Steve Yurko

CEO of apexanalytix

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Introduction

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8:45 am | March 17, 2025

Master of Ceremonies, Stephanie Atkin, will introduce Icon’s the inspiring agenda, highlight opportunities to connect with global finance, procurement, and shared services leaders, and set the tone for impactful networking.

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Stephanie Atkin

SVP of Global Marketing at apexanalytix

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Industry Trends with Hackett Group

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9:00 am | March 17, 2025

Join Chris Sawchuk, Principal and Global Procurement Advisory Practice Leader at The Hackett Group, as he shares insights from the 2025 edition of The Hackett Group’s Procurement Agenda and Key Issues Study. This comprehensive study surveyed procurement leaders at global midsized and large enterprises in late 2024, gathering data on their strategic priorities and initiatives for the upcoming year.

In this informative webinar, Chris will delve into the key findings from the study, including:

  • The top trends expected to have a transformational impact on the procurement agenda over the next five years, including digital procurement and automation, artificial intelligence and generative AI, evolving skill sets, and real-time data visibility.
  • The 2025 key objectives, transformation plans, and challenges facing procurement organizations, including projected changes in procurement workloads, staffing levels, operating budgets, and technology spending.
  • The use of generative AI and technology to enable procurement capabilities, including the current state of adoption, growth, and value delivery.
Chris Sawchuk
Chris Sawchuck

Principal and Global Procurement Advisory Practice Leader at The Hackett Group

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Supplier Onboarding

Compliance Redefined: Building a Global Know Your Supplier Program

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9:30 am | March 17, 2025

Transforming compliance into a competitive edge can seem like a daunting task, but with the right strategies, it becomes a game-changer. This session is designed to guide Compliance Officers, IT Managers, Procurement Leaders, and Finance professionals through the intricacies of building and deploying a global Know Your Supplier (KYS) program.

Attendees will explore critical aspects of global compliance deployment, including overcoming challenges like managing multiple ERP systems, navigating regional nuances, and driving change management across diverse operations. Learn how to reduce cycle times—achieving a 70% improvement where 20% was the original goal—and mitigate risks through standardized, globally unified processes.

Featured topics will include:

  • The Power of One Process, One Tool Globally: How a singular strategy drives efficiency and consistency.
  • Self-Serve vs. Proxy Models: Explore the transition to supplier-managed data and the benefits of simplifying user experiences with streamlined self-serve capabilities.
  • Mastering Supplier Data: Unlocking supplier master data as the linchpin for risk reduction and informed decision-making across the enterprise.
  • Obstacles and Insights: Learn from real-world challenges like reverse engineering complex ERP landscapes, navigating regional compliance complications, and implementing change management strategies that achieved a 90% satisfaction rate.

The session will also discuss the future of supplier compliance, including third-party risk management, data accessibility, and emerging challenges such as data privacy laws in markets like China.

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Akhilesh Agarwal

COO & EVP, Global Procure to Pay Solutions & Applied Technology

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Break

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10:15 am | March 17, 2025

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Procure-to-Pay Leadership Panel

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10:30 am | March 17, 2025

Join industry experts in a dynamic panel discussion exploring the rapidly evolving procure-to-pay (P2P) landscape. With technology driving transformation and global compliance shifts, the P2P process in 2025 is set to reach new heights of efficiency and innovation. This session will discuss emerging trends reshaping procurement, including the impact of global e-invoice mandates, the integration of generative AI into workflows, and the increasing importance of cross-departmental spend visibility. Attendees will gain actionable insights into how these advancements are redefining vendor relationships, strengthening fraud controls, and driving operational transparency.

 

Speakers to be announced.

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Danny Thompson

Chief Product Officer at apexanalytix

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Supplier Risk Management

Leveraging AI to Accelerate Supplier Risk Assessments

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11:15 am | March 17, 2025

The rapid evolution of AI is transforming how businesses evaluate and manage supplier risk. Join us for an in-depth session exploring how cutting-edge AI technology can streamline vendor risk assessments, saving time, enhancing accuracy, and improving compliance.

This session will showcase how AI-powered tools redefine traditional processes, allowing businesses to complete detailed assessments of high-risk and critical suppliers in mere minutes—reducing the time from hours to just 15–20 minutes.

Key takeaways include:

  • Understanding how AI can evaluate multiple risk domains
  • Learning how a reduction in review times can translate to increased efficiency and ROI
  • Envisioning the future of automated and integrated vendor risk workflows for enterprise systems
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Akhilesh Agarwal

COO & EVP, Global Procure to Pay Solutions & Applied Technology

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Lunch

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12:00 pm | March 17, 2025

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Roundtable Discussion: Strategies to Transform Shared Services in 2025

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1:00 pm | March 17, 2025

Start off the session with an overview of how a global sports apparel company recently transformed their shared services operations. Then, open up the discussion with the problems your team is facing, recent success and plans for 2025. Join a group of your peers for the candid conversations that can help your company solve problems.

Pete Erdner
Pete Erdner

VP, Commercial Operations

Cristiana Rodrigues

Finance & GBS Operations Expert

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Supplier OnboardingSupplier Risk Management

Demo: Supplier Risk Management

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1:00 pm | March 17, 2025

See how Supplier Management amplifies the faint signals of risk across a broad spectrum of risk categories: financial health, cyber risk, sustainability and more.

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Akhilesh Agarwal

COO & EVP, Global Procure to Pay Solutions & Applied Technology

Derek Mellott
Derek Mellot

Director of Global Presales

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Accounts Payable Recovery Audit

Panel: Creating a Foundation of Control in Finance Operations

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1:00 pm | March 17, 2025

ERPs aren’t perfect when it comes to overpayment controls. Major disruptions, like ERP migrations or eInvoicing deployment, happening in tandem with enterprise obstacles like poor vendor master data or invoice submission problems, leave organizations vulnerable to spikes in overpayments.

This session focuses on how to create AP processes that safeguard your organization from overpayments—from leveraging an audit to recover lost funds, to implementing technology that prevents creates greater control.

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Phil Beane

COO & EVP, Global Transaction Compliance Solutions at apexanalytix

Sud Chopra
Sudhanshu Chopra

Director – Global Finance Processes at Cummins

Adam Schulman
Adam Schulman

Director of Finance & Global Head of AP, AR & T&E at Boeing

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Geraldine Canozo

Global AP COE Process & Controls Leader at Baker Hughes

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Supplier Onboarding

Scaling for Success: Transforming and Centralizing Supplier Management After Substantial Growth

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1:00 pm | March 17, 2025

Is your P2P team prepared for substantial growth? Join this session to learn about Highgate’s digital transformation journey as it expanded from 40 to 500 properties resulting in the management of thousands of new vendors.

  • Identifying key factors for what is needed during a period of change and growth within your organization and P2P teams.
  • How to effectively lead an RFP process and lead a digital transformation project with various stakeholders across different departments.
  • Centralizing supplier management across multiple locations and establishing a shared services model to streamline vendor touchpoints and expedite onboarding.
  • Leveraging a new supplier management solution with new internal processes to help reduce duplicates, increase compliance, mitigate risks, and prevent fraud.
Kathryn Dunstan
Kathryn Dunstan

Senior Director of Supplier Management and Optimization at Highgate

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Danny Thompson

Chief Product Officer at apexanalytix

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Supplier Onboarding

Demo: Supplier Onboarding & Management

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2:20 pm | March 17, 2025

See how automated supplier onboarding and ongoing management looks from both a supplier and buyers perspective. Hint: it’s a better experience for both.

Derek Mellott
Derek Mellot

Director of Global Presales

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Fraud DetectionFraud Prevention

Roundtable Discussion: Let’s Collaborate on Fraud

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2:20 pm | March 17, 2025

Kickoff the discussion with the latest and greatest technology to prevent payment fraud. Then have a private group conversation with your peers on fraud impacting your operations. From the constant phishing attempts to the near misses, share what you are doing to prevent the next event and learn from your peers that are facing the same problems.

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Danny Thompson

Chief Product Officer at apexanalytix

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Roundtable Discussion: Attracting and Retaining Talent

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2:20 pm | March 17, 2025

Struggling to build a team of driven, adaptable, and skilled individuals? Join us for an insightful roundtable discussion tailored to professionals in finance, procurement, and shared services. This interactive session will explore proven strategies for attracting and retaining top-tier talent, with a focus on identifying and cultivating team members who embody the qualities of being hungry, humble, and smart.

Learn how to create a work environment that not only draws exceptional candidates but also keeps them engaged and motivated for the long term. Walk away with practical tips and fresh perspectives you can immediately apply to strengthen your workforce and foster a thriving company culture.

Jess Kozak
Jessica Kozak

Chief Human Resources Officer

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Supplier Risk ManagementThird Party Data Validation & Enrichment

Transforming Third-Party Risk Management: Building Resilience and Integrity in the Extended Enterprise

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2:20 pm | March 17, 2025

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Nashville, TN

The complexities of third-party relationships are growing as organizations face increasing regulatory demands alongside growing complexity in operational risk and resilience. Legacy, siloed processes can no longer keep pace with today’s dynamic environments, leaving organizations vulnerable to disruptions and penalties.

This session explores the shift toward integrated, holistic third-party risk management strategies supported by modern Third-Party GRC platforms. These solutions unify fragmented processes, provide real-time insights, and automate key tasks like due diligence, monitoring, and compliance tracking. By leveraging advanced capabilities such as risk intelligence integration and automation, organizations can streamline operations, meet regulatory expectations, and build resilient third-party ecosystems that align with broader ESG and organizational objectives.

Learning Objectives

  • Understand the challenges of traditional third-party risk management approaches.
  • Explore how modern Third-Party GRC solutions streamline compliance and enhance risk visibility.
  • Learn strategies to integrate ESG considerations into third-party risk management frameworks.
  • Discover how automation and real-time intelligence drive efficiency and resilience in third-party ecosystems.
Michael Rasmussen
Michael Rasmussen

GRC Analyst & Pundit

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Fraud PreventionSupplier Cyber Risk

Demo: Supplier Cyber Risk

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8:30 am | March 18, 2025

Your suppliers’ cyber risk is now your problem. Learn how apexanalytix can assess cyber vulnerabilities and dark web threats to identify pathways to supply chain disruptions.

Charlie Clark
Charlie Clark

General Manager & EVP, Cyber Risk

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Accounts Payable Recovery AuditOverpayment Prevention

Panel: Preventing Overpayments from Making It Out the Door

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8:30 am | March 18, 2025

Mistakes like overpayments, duplicate payments, and payment errors can add up to cost companies billions each year. These mistakes happen for all kinds of reasons—from something as big as a complex software migration, to something as small as a mistyped extra zero on an invoice.

Preventing these payment mistakes from going out the door means that your money can be used to further your success. During this session, we will talk through how companies are leveraging apexanalytix overpayment prevention software to prevent mistakes…in the millions.

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Phil Beane

COO & EVP, Global Transaction Compliance Solutions at apexanalytix

Contesa Jackson
Contesa Jackson

Accounts Payable Supervisor at Southwest Airlines

Tiffany Moore

Payable Strategy Advisor for FedEx Global Disbursements

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Roundtable Discussion: Ensuring Accuracy from Contracts to POs to Payments

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8:30 am | March 18, 2025

Join us for an engaging roundtable discussion focused on ensuring accuracy throughout the entire procure-to-pay (P2P) process. Designed for finance, procurement, and shared services professionals, this session will explore best practices and strategies to streamline operations, enhance data integrity, and mitigate risks from contract creation to purchase orders and final payments.

Gain insights into common challenges and how automation, clear workflows, and timely reconciliations can improve efficiency, reduce errors, and drive better financial outcomes for your organization. Come prepared to share your experiences and connect with peers navigating similar journeys.

Gregg Maxwell
Gregg Maxwell

Group Vice President NASC, Controller at Albertsons

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Supplier Risk Management

Expanding Your Risk Management to Your Whole Supplier Base

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8:30 am | March 18, 2025

In Q2 2025, apexanalytix will introduce the next step in managing a company’s risk with simple sophistication and actionable outcomes to critical business tasks. Join this session for a walk-through of apex’s newest offering

  • Raising the bar for the entire supply base
  • Pathway to true n-tier
  • Business continuity and supplier performance
  • Supplier Development – GenAI, Marketplace, Learning Community
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Danny Thompson

Chief Product Officer at apexanalytix

Chris Haydon
Chris Haydon

General Manager & EVP at apexanalytix

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Welcome to Day 2!

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9:40 am | March 18, 2025

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Phil Beane

COO & EVP, Global Transaction Compliance Solutions at apexanalytix

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Leadership Panel

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9:50 am | March 18, 2025

The panelists will share insights on best practices for streamlining P2P workflows, leveraging automation and digital tools to enhance efficiency, and driving cost savings without compromising supplier relationships. Key topics will include risk management strategies, fostering collaboration between procurement and accounts payable teams, and aligning P2P processes with broader organizational goals.

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Break

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10:30 am | March 18, 2025

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Keynote Speaker – Keni Thomas

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10:45 am | March 18, 2025

In the summer of 1993 Staff Sergeant Keni Thomas was deployed to Mogadishu Somalia with the 3rd Ranger Battalion as part of an elite special operations package called Task Force Ranger. Their mission was to find and capture a criminal warlord named Mohammed Farrah Aidid. On the 3rd of October, Keni and his fellow rangers distinguished themselves in an eighteen hour fire-fight that would later be recounted in the highly successful book and movie “Black Hawk Down”. Nineteen Americans gave their lives and 78 were wounded in the worst urban combat seen by US troops since WWII. A powerful speaker, Keni captivates audiences from beginning to end as he tells the incredible story of extraordinary individuals and how they fought to bring each other home.

Drawing from his experiences on the battlefield, Keni inspires people to achieve greatness by stressing the importance of outstanding leadership at every level, even if the only person you are leading is yourself. His message of “Train as You Fight, Fight as You train and Lead By Example” for epitomizes the Ranger motto “Rangers Lead the Way!” Keni sums it up like this, “Leadership has never been the rank, the position or the title you hold. It’s the example you set for the ones you serve. And we all serve somebody. There are people to your left and to your right who are counting on you and it’s up to you to deliver. But you will only be as good as you prepared yourself to be.”

After Mogadishu, Staff Sergeant Thomas volunteered for one more enlistment in the Army. He became an assistant team leader for a six-man ranger reconnaissance team. He earned his master parachutist rating with over 400 military free fall jumps. He completed the Special Forces Combat Diver course, became an Advanced EMT and was one of ten Americans to complete the Belgium Commando Course. Keni got out of the Army to pursue his music career and became an award-winning country music recording artist and songwriter in Nashville. He and his band Cornbread were featured in the movie “Sweet Home Alabama” and his music can be heard on country stations nationwide.

Keni continued to serve our troops with regular tours to Iraq and Afghanistan. Keni Thomas is a best selling author, an Emmy-winning producer and a regular guest on all the major news networks as a military analyst. Keni also got to be a military advisor for the Mel Gibson movie “We Were Soldiers”. He has been recognized by the President of the United States, by Congress and has been awarded the American Patriot Award for his dedicated work on behalf of our veterans and their families. Keni is most proud of his appointment as a national spokesman for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. They provide college educations to the children of our special operations personnel killed in combat or training. “Our special operations warriors are the tip of the spear. Their’s is a dangerous and high risk mission” says Thomas. “Because of that, their losses are disproportionately high when compared to the rest of our military. Taking care of their kids, is the least we can do. It’s what those dads would have wanted.” Keni is a graduate of the University of Florida and a recipient of the bronze star for valor.

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Closing Remarks

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11:45 am | March 18, 2025

Executive-Headshots-2024_Steve-Yurko
Steve Yurko

CEO of apexanalytix

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Lunch

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12:00 pm | March 18, 2025

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Complimentary shuttle to Nashville International Airport

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1:30 pm | March 18, 2025

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Give Back Opportunity with Rise Against Hunger

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1:30 pm | March 18, 2025

Join us in creating meal kits with Rise Against Hunger. This is a growing global movement to end hunger by nourishing lives, empowering communities, and responding to emergencies. Targeting remote, last-mile communities within hunger pockets designated “serious” or higher by the Global Hunger Index, this giveback will supply those in need with their own food and nutrition security as they overcome these challenges.

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