The sound of a buzzer sent cheers through the Columbus Christian Academy gym filled with students April 18. The occasion was a Feed the Need “packing party,” the culmination of a month-long, mission-based CCA fundraiser. The buzzer signaled another 240 meals packed, enough to fill another box of food packets destined for children living in extreme hunger in Haiti, as well as in Lowndes County.
The school teamed up with The Champion Group out of Chelsea, Alabama, for the project.
“We were looking for our annual fundraiser to be a little bit different; we wanted a mission-focused fundraiser we felt everyone from K3 all the way up to our seniors could really participate in and get excited about,” said CCA Board Treasurer Jeremy Bandre, who coordinated the event.
After several weeks of fundraising in the community for the CCA annual fund — which bridges the gap between students’ needs and available funding — kids assembled 10,080 meals on packing day. Of that total, 1,440 meals have been given to Helping Hands food bank in Columbus. More than 8,500 meals will be distributed in Haiti. The experience allowed CCA youth to take part in a “mission trip” right on their school campus, said Ralph Carter, the project’s volunteer communications captain.
“There are some within the school that go down to Haiti on various mission trips; this is a way for (younger) students to get involved without physically going on a trip,” he said. “They can all serve by helping pack these meals.”
The packing party began with juniors and seniors helping organize the assembly process. They then assisted younger students as each grade had a turn at bagging, weighing, sealing and boxing up the meals that contained dried protein, vegetables, rice and vitamins.
“They each had a job to do and were excited about it,” Carter said. “They really got into the whole event, with music going and being able to hear the gym buzzer every time a box was filled.”
The Feed the Need project raised more than $50,000. A percentage covered the cost of the food and shipping.
Bandre said, “I think it was a blessing for the students, and I know it’ll be a blessing for the people that receive (the meals). Of the packing party, he said, “I wouldn’t take anything in the world for it. It was a lot of work, but that was the most fun I’ve had in an awful long time. It was great to see the kids, the teachers and everybody really getting into this as they had an opportunity to feed people spiritually as well as physically.”
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.