Denise Gibson: Give Ozarks and The Great American Milk Drive rally community
This spring, Ozarks Food Harvest rallied the community to participate in two first-time events. Give Ozarks and The Great American Milk Drive made a significant impact on our neighbors in need. Through these efforts, we were able to spread our mission of hope to more people in the Ozarks.
The first-ever Give Ozarks was in an incredible success. The 24-hour online day of giving hosted by Community Foundation of the Ozarks raised $14,301 for the Weekend Backpack Program. Of the 175 individuals and organizations who donated, fifty percent of them were first time donors.
Nathanial, a student at Campbell Elementary recently shared with us what the Weekend Backpack Program means to him.
“I love having the snack bag, because I have no food,” Nathanial wrote. “If I didn’t have the bag I wouldn’t have anything to eat.”
This one-day drive provided an incredible 10,722 meals to children like Nathanial.
We also hosted the first Great American Milk Drive event on May 30. Our goal was to provide more milk to struggling families in the Ozarks. We were so pleased with the outcome of the event. So far we have received $7,903 in donations, providing 1,580 milk vouchers for those in need!
I am always amazed by the generosity of this community, and how so many of you are eager to help when you are needed. Thank you for all that you do to Transform Hunger into Hope.
Denise Gibson is the director of Development and Communication at Ozarks Food Harvest.