Media

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— The Angel Fund and Dillon’s, located at 1831 West Kearney in Springfield, will host a “Meet and Greet Santa” this Saturday, December 1 from 9 am to 6 pm to benefit Ozarks Food Harvest and Ed V. Williams Elementary. Shoppers will receive a photograph with Santa in exchange for a nonperishable food donation for The Food Bank.

The Angel Fund, which formed 11 years ago as a volunteer group to meet the needs of impoverished schoolchildren in Springfield, will also collect new or gently used children’s gloves, stocking hats, coats, shoes, or socks at Dillon’s on Saturday. The clothing items will be given to K-5th graders at Ed V. Williams Elementary School on West Kearney.

Dillon’s customers can also participate in other activities on Saturday including a magic show, tae kwon-do demonstrations, face painting, story time, “turkey” bowling, and holiday-inspired samples from each department.

According to Angel Fund President Tim Burk, Williams Elementary has the largest population of government-housed school children, and 85% of the children are enrolled in the free and reduced lunch program.

According to Ozarks Food Harvest, 150,000 people live in poverty in the Ozarks, and 50,000 are children. The food bank distributes nearly five million pounds of food annually to its network of 323 hunger relief agencies across 29 Ozarks counties. Ozarks Food Harvest also offers direct relief through its Kids Cafe, Food for Thought, and Mobile Food Pantry programs.

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To learn more, contact Lindsey Neddenriep at (417) 865-3411.