Sean C. Morgan
The East Linn Treasure Seekers recently donated a record $10,000 to the Kids Food Pak program.
The group of metal detector enthusiasts annually gives the proceeds from fund-raising events to the program, and this year was the largest to date.
The Food Pak program is serving 89 children right now, said Kandy Elliott, who heads of the volunteer effort. She believes that the program is going to add 12 more students to its list. The program is currently fulfilling all of the requests it has received.
The students are selected by school counselors or the public welfare system, Elliott said. They submit requests to the program for backpacks.
Ten to 12 volunteers put a weekend’s worth of food into backpacks for each recipient weekly to ensure they are able to eat when they are out of school.
“It’s going really good,” Elliott said. “We’ve been blessed with people helping out.”
“A good portion of it comes from the competition we put on in June,” said Rita Houston, ELTS secretary. “We couldn’t do it without our local sponsors.”
They include numerous businesses and individuals in Sweet Home and Lebanon, Houston said. “They’ve been fantastic to support the kids.”
When they made the donation, Food Pak volunteers “shared some of the stories” about the children they help, Houston said. “It breaks your heart. There was hardly a dry eye.”
To help meet that need ELTS hosts a silver hunt in June. It is often held at Community Chapel. Some 45 people compete in two events, which are followed by a free children’s hunt.
Every month, the club holds an outing, sometimes camping overnight, Houston said. Last year, the club helped with the Hero Half Marathon and ran a metal detecting contest for the children free of charge. Club members, who buy all of the prizes themselves, intend to do it again this year.
This year’s silver hunt will be June 28-29 at Community Chapel, Houston said. ELTS buys $1,000 in silver to be found during the event.
For more information or to get involved with ELTS, visit the club on Facebook or send an email to [email protected].
Elliott said that the Sweet Home Elks Lodge contributed funding this year as well as the Sweet Home Mennonite Church matching a fund-raising event held by children attending Vacation Bible School.
Food Pak volunteers are also in contact with another group that is planning to donate.
For more information or to help out Kids Food Pak, call the Community Chapel at (541) 367-5106 or Elliott at (541) 606-4560.