Kiwanis Club donates $1,000 to Caring for Kids

Harrisburg Kiwanis Club recently presented a $1,000 check to Mary Reed, coordinator of the Caring for Kids program housed at Harrisburg First United Methodist Church.

This program was set up for kids in need of additional help on weekends, because many children go hungry when not in school. Every Friday, these students are sent home with bags containing six items: two breakfast foods and four other nonperishable, nutritious and convenient items that are age-specific to the students.

During the summer, bags are taken to the summer lunch program on Thursdays along with books for distribution. The program is funded strictly through donations from individuals, Sunday school classes, other church groups, high school clubs, sororities and many other churches.

Cost of the program is $2,500 to $3,000 per month, depending on what is put in the bags and whether or not a holiday is included. Last year, Reed gave a presentation of the program at a Kiwanis meeting. Seeing the need for both monetary and volunteer assistance, Harrisburg Kiwanis adopted the program as one of its service projects.

Reed said that volunteer help and monetary donations are always accepted and appreciated. Bags are filled every four weeks. Bagging usually begins around 11 a.m., but assistance is welcome any time until approximately 2 p.m. Kiwanis has one family that uses lunch break to help fill bags.

Even though the program is run out of Harrisburg FUMC, it is a total community effort.