I am honored to announce that last month I was named this year’s Outstanding Fundraising Professional by the Ozarks Region Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
Although I was the one presented this award, it truly belongs to all of us. Your continued generosity is dear to my heart. Without supporters like you, this achievement would not be possible.
This year’s Hunger Action Month was one of the best yet. We had more outreach and fundraising events than ever before, and you really stepped up to help Ozarks Food Harvest.
Our friends at iHeartMedia did an incredible job with Hungerthon, new to 105.9 KGBX this year. It was certainly a highlight of Hunger Action Month. Over $125,000 was raised for the Weekend Backpack Program to give area children food over the weekend when school lunches aren’t available and they might otherwise go hungry. Over the four day ratio-thon, I watched Kevin and Liz put in long hours sharing with listeners exactly why it is so crucial that they donate to this program.
It’s partners like this that make raising awareness of the issue of hunger possible. At Ozarks Food Harvest, we work every day to feed people across 28 Missouri counties, and community support is imperative to be able to grow much-needed food assistance programs.
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.
After nearly a year of work by Food Bank staff, I’m thrilled to announce the unveiling of a new Ozarks Food Harvest website.
Not only does the site have an improved look, but it’s also designed with you in mind. The homepage immediately grabs your attention with a looped video of our distribution center, giving you a behind the scenes look at OFH.