How NEST4US Is Building on a Decade of Service to Reach Over 500 Families This Thanksgiving
Posted by Trey Mosier
5,000+
Volunteers engaged through SignUpGenius across all programs
500+
Families the 2026 drive aims to reach
$6.5M+
In volunteer value since 2016
Every November, NEST4US asks a simple question of its community: who wants to help a family put Thanksgiving dinner on the table? The answer comes from all directions. Families, schools, corporate teams, sports teams and neighbors collect rice, beans, stuffing, gravy and cranberry sauce, then pack it all into bags for families facing food insecurity across the Washington, D.C. Metro Area.
Keeping thousands of helpers on the same page takes a system, and for NEST4US that system starts with a SignUpGenius link.
A Nest Built at the Kitchen Table
Sisters Shreyaa and Esha Venkat started volunteering in elementary school, tagging along with their mom to local schools, libraries and community events. They handed out food, read to kids and pitched in wherever they could. Along the way they noticed that plenty of people around them, especially young people, wanted to help but didn’t know where to start. The opportunities that existed were limited, hard to access or didn’t fit the interests of the people who wanted to serve.
In 2016, from their kitchen table in Ashburn, Virginia, 13-year-old Shreyaa and 10-year-old Esha founded NEST4US to change that. The name reflects the goal: a nest, meaning a home, a community and a family, for all of us. Ten years later, the sisters serve as CEO and COO of one of the world’s largest youth-founded nonprofits.
NEST4US runs five programs covering more than 14 UN Sustainable Development Goals, from food redistribution and hygiene kits to handmade birthday presents and intergenerational workshops. More than 9,000 volunteers, ranging in age from 3 to 90, have contributed over $6.5 million in volunteer value.
Thousands of Helpers, Thousands of Schedules
The Nourish2Flourish Thanksgiving Bag Drive gives families experiencing food insecurity the ingredients to cook a Thanksgiving meal of their own. Bags go out at NEST4US’s weekly community resource distributions, and this year the team aims to reach more than 500 families across the D.C. Metro Area.
A drive that size depends on a lot of people doing a lot of different things. Some collect food. Some pack bags. Some help hand them out. Others can’t come in person but still want to contribute. As a people-powered organization, NEST4US coordinates with thousands of volunteers who all have different schedules and commitments.
Without a central system, that means scattered messages, one-off follow-ups and a lot of time spent on logistics instead of on families.
One Link, Every Way to Help
The drive kicks off when NEST4US shares its SignUpGenius link with its network of volunteers, families, schools, corporate teams and community partners. From there, each person picks the role that fits their schedule.
Each volunteer event gets its own sign up page, so people have one place to see what’s needed, what’s expected and how to commit. “The simpler we make the process, the easier it is for someone who wants to help to take that first step,” the founders said.
Way to help
What volunteers do
Collect
Gather requested items like rice, beans, stuffing, vegetables, gravy and cranberry sauce
Pack
Sign up for a shift to assemble Thanksgiving bags
Distribute
Help hand out bags to families at community resource distributions
Ship
Send items online for supporters who can't participate in person
The same setup pays off when plans change. If an event gets a last-minute cancellation or update, the team doesn’t have to track down each volunteer.
“We can quickly send a blast email to everyone who signed up, rather than reaching out to each volunteer individually,” the founders said. That keeps volunteers informed before they head out and frees the team to focus on handling the change itself.
Genius Tip
Running a multi-day drive? Create a separate sign up for each event or shift type. When something changes, you can message only the people affected instead of your whole volunteer list.
More Than a Bag of Groceries
Across all its programs and initiatives, about 5,000 volunteers have engaged with NEST4US through SignUpGenius over the years. They come from every background and age group, and many sign up together as families, classmates or coworkers. The founders say the response shows how much people want to help when there’s a clear way to get involved.
For NEST4US, success goes beyond the number of bags. It means more families have access to a variety of food, more community members get to make a tangible difference, and the ties between volunteers, partners and families grow stronger. “Each bag represents more than food: it is a reminder that no family should have to navigate the holidays feeling forgotten or alone,” the founders said.
A decade of service has also taught the team to meet volunteers where they are. Offering online shipments, group collection drives, and both in-person and virtual opportunities lets more people contribute no matter their schedule or location.
Looking ahead, NEST4US wants to connect the seasonal drive to its year-round food distributions, because families need support long after the holidays end.
Explore NEST4US's Five Programs
Beyond Nourish2Flourish, NEST4US redistributes surplus food, assembles hygiene kits, celebrates kids' birthdays with handmade presents and connects generations through service.
“Platforms like SignUpGenius help us turn that shared desire to give back into meaningful action by making it easier for people to find opportunities to serve and become part of something bigger than themselves.
We’ve learned over the past decade that you don’t have to change the entire world in one moment. Sometimes, you change someone’s world by simply making sure they have a meal on their table.”
Shreyaa Venkat and Esha Venkat, Founders, NEST4US
Plan Your Next Food Drive
Give volunteers one place to sign up for collecting, packing and delivering, and message them all in seconds when plans change.
Our school started using SignUpGenius last year for parent teacher conferences. This site has saved our teachers and parents so much time, and best of all, it saves paper. SignUpGenius should be the only way to sign up for parent teacher conferences.
Posted by Trey Mosier
