By Jeremy D. Wells
Carter County Times
Tomorrow evening the Carter County Kiwanis Club will help pack boxes to send more than 25,000 meals out to needy families locally and across the region.
Club officer Willis Johnson explained that the group’s next project will distribute those meals to needy families across eastern Kentucky, with half going to flood victims and the other half distributed among the local counties with clubs participating in the program – Carter, Morgan, and Boyd.
They’ve successfully collected the $6,250 in donations they needed to fund the project – though anyone interested in supporting the endeavor financially is still welcome to drop off a check, made payable to the Carter County Kiwanis Club, at City National Bank in Grayson. Or, Johnson said, you can contact him directly at (606)255-6359.
Now the group is looking for volunteers to help sort and pack the meals once they’re delivered.
Johnson said anyone interested in helping sort and pack the meals for delivery should show up at the Grayson Bingo Hall, at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow for line captain training. Food packing will begin at 6:15 p.m.
He said they expect it will take until around 8:30 p.m. for all the packing to be finished, with volunteers from local high schools and KCU helping with the end of night cleanup and loading for distribution.
If you can’t commit to a full evening, they also need volunteers to help with early setup, starting at 4 p.m. Johnson said they will need anywhere from 80 to 120 volunteers to pull off the entire event.
Each pack will contain enough meal items to feed up to eight people, Johnson explained. He said they will be packaged with eight meals (servings) per pack, and 40 packs per box, for 320 meals per box. But how they will be divided and distributed when they reach the various agencies who will distribute them is up to each of those agencies.
No matter how they’re distributed, he said, they’ll help keep the bellies of children and their families full through the holiday season, and that’s what the Kiwanis is here for.
Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com