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Cayden Lee, Riley Maddox. Courtesy of Wheels Up

Michael La Sasso. Courtesy of Wheels Up

Courtesy of Wheels Up

Taylor Strain Courtesy of Wheels Up

Jared Ivey Courtesy of Wheels Up

Recently, Wheels Up, a leading provider of on-demand private aviation, the Grove Collective, an Ole Miss-exclusive Name, Image, Likeness program, and The Brandr Group, joined forces for a comprehensive day of service aimed at combating hunger in Oxford.

As part of Wheels Up’s ongoing Meals Up initiative with Feeding America, a group of Wheels Up Champion Ambassadors made up of student-athletes from across the Ole Miss athletics department gathered at the Oxford Food Pantry to help distribute food items to families and individuals in need. As a result of these efforts, the students were able to help approximately 200 families and community members.

“At Wheels Up, we are deeply committed to supporting philanthropic initiatives that resonate with our company, our customers, and the communities we serve," said Kristen Lauria, Chief Customer and Marketing Officer at Wheels Up. “We are especially proud to join forces with Ole Miss student-athletes in their fight against hunger in Oxford through our Meals Up initiative. This day of service exemplifies our dedication to combating food insecurity while inspiring the next generation of leaders to create meaningful change both on and off the field.”

Wheels Up, The Grove Collective, and The Brandr Group share a passion for fighting food insecurity. Through the Meals Up program, Wheels Up has made this cause one of its main missions for community engagement. The brand created this initiative in 2020 to help support the growing level of hunger that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since its inception, Wheels Up has raised and inspired nearly 90 million meals through our partnership with Feeding America.

“Since the inception of this partnership, our athletes have felt the positive impact of giving back to the Oxford and Ole Miss community which is at the heart of our mission at The Grove Collective,” said Walker Jones, Executive Director, The Grove Collective, LLC. “The opportunity to partner with best-in-class brands like Wheels Up and The BrandR Group gives our athletes a platform to experience name, image, and likeness in a meaningful way while impacting the communities they live and serve in.“

The Oxford Food Pantry is part of the Mississippi Food Network (MFN), which has been feeding Mississippians since 1984. MFN distributes more than 1.5 million pounds of food and feeds more than 1.8 million people per year. This key organization accepts donations from multiple sources and distributes food and goods through 430 member agencies that help to ensure MFN has a wide distribution network and access to those in need across the state.

“Partnerships like this one between our team, Wheels Up, and The Grove Collective that emphasize charity and service are one of the many reasons NIL is changing the landscape of collegiate athletics for good,” said Chris Marciani with The Brandr Group. “Our goal is to ultimately empower student-athletes to get engaged, and working with the Oxford Food Pantry and Meals Up helps us provide them with avenues to better their community.”

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