Tuesday, March 25, the Wirth Gym at Kimball Area High School will be a hub of activity. There won?Äôt be basketballs or sports uniforms, but dozens of students and other volunteers will be busy packing meals to feed the hungry in the world.
Last October, several Kimball students attended WE Day at the Xcel Center in St. Paul. They were encouraged to turn ?Äúme to we?Äù and to find local and global service projects.
Leaders from a number of student organizations formed The Hunger Squad and took on a hunger campaign they called Kimball Feeding Countries.
Partnering with Impact Lives, the Hunger Squad set about raising $9,000 needed to make Kimball a food-packing site; as of this week, the Hunger Squad is less than $1,000 short of their goal which they expect to reach.
March 25 is the designated food-packing day in Kimball. Students in grades 4-12 along with staff and community members will pack 50,000 meals in the gym, during the school day. Impact Lives will provide all the materials needed, and will send the chicken/rice meals to a country in dire need of healthy food.
Each of the participating student organizations pledged to raise a minimum of $500 for the event. These organizations are FFA, National Honor Society, Student Governments at KES and KAHS, Kimball Letter Winners, Speech/One-Act Club, and Building Leadership Together Leo Club.
The Hunger Squad made presentations to community organizations and businesses, forging partnerships to help with their fundraising goals. This raised just over $7,500 toward their goal, together with eight local service organizations, five businesses and churches, and private donations.
This project is exactly what WE Day was about, helping students see and respond to the needs of ?Äúwe?Äù instead of just ?Äúme.?Äù
Volunteers are encouraged to sign up to pack meals March 25.
Everyone is welcome to help. Monetary donations also are still needed. Call Kris O?ÄôBrien at (320) 398-7700 ext. 107 if you can help.
The Hunger Squad created a video to describe their project; it is viewable on the school?Äôs website at www.kimball.k12.mn.us.