Springfield Volunteers Help OFH during annual Day of Caring
SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— Two local groups of volunteers donated their time to Ozarks Food Harvest Thursday morning to help The Food Bank gather supplies for needy area children.
The entire day is part of the United Way National Day of Caring, where almost a dozen women, all members of Springfield’s Female Leaders in Philanthropy (FLIP) group were joined by more than 15 volunteers from the local CHASE customer service center.
The group of volunteers boxed up supplies, like toothpaste and soup, for about 2 hours at Ozarks Food Harvest. Theitems will be used for the Food for Thought™ backpack program this coming school year.
As kids head back to school, the backpack program will be needed more than ever. For the 2008-2009 school year, Ozarks Food Harvest will distribute backpacks full of nutritious food to impoverished kids in 28 area schools.
Children in the program are on the free and reduced lunch list and receive a backpack on Friday before they go home for the weekend. Last year, The Food Bank distributed more than 17,000 backpacks to kids in the Ozarks.
FLIP plays a large roll in helping to fund the program. FLIP Chair Nancy O’Reilly has led the group’s effort to raise funds to expand the backpack program in 10 Springfield schools annually.
This is the sixth year for the Food for Thought™ backpack program. The program was implemented following the Community Focus report card pointing out the number of children living in poverty in the Ozarks, which is above 50,000.
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To learn more, contact Lindsey Neddenriep at (417) 865-3411.