Bay Area Charity Aims to Beat Cleveland in NBA Finals-Inspired Competition

As the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers battle it out in the NBA finals, another competition announced Friday is pitting the two regions against each other.

The Bay Area chapter of the charity group Hash Tag Lunch Bag, which provides bagged lunches for people in need, announced it has accepted a challenge from the organization’s Cleveland chapter, to see who can gather the most volunteers to make the most bagged lunches.

The NBA finals-inspired challenge took place on Sunday, beginning at 11:30 a.m. at Temple Nightclub, located at 540 Howard St., according to organization officials.

The goal of the event is to gather 300 volunteers to prepare 3,000 lunches, which will go out to local shelters.

According to the event’s organizers, the competition will be the first of its kind and will attempt to break the nation wide record for the most lunches made in one gathering for the charity.

Hash Tag Lunch Bag first started in Los Angeles two years ago and spread to the Bay Area a year and a half ago, organizers said.

So far, the Bay Area chapter has assisted over 9,500 people by providing lunches, socks, shoes and coats, organization officials said.

The charity relies heavily on volunteers using social media to document their experience, which in turn helps spread the word and inspires others to join the movement.

Organizers credit social media for playing a heavy role in the movements rapid spread across the country.

Past partners of Hash Tag Lunch Bag include the Golden State Warriors, Citibank, NBA Cares, WeGive and Esurance.

Daniel Montes, Bay City News

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