The Carbon Caring for Kids started as an idea between two mothers, Marcie Loveless and Tiffany Noyes came up with to help school children in the community during the Thanksgiving break; that for some reason or another are not getting food to eat consistently when they are not in school. Both mothers never imagined the success and need in our area once their first project was accomplished.
The mothers learned that their idea could be beneficial for children on the weekends and not just during holiday breaks. “Such an amazing response from the community. So many people were so willing to jump in and donate so much of their time, their money and food that we decided to make this a continuing and ongoing thing,” stated Loveless.
The families and/or children are identified through the help of the schools. The names are anonymous to the organizers; they just get a count of food kits needed for the weekend at each school. “We deliver them and then they are dived out to the kids and families. We hit a variety of situations, from families who just need the extra support, all the way down to kids who re ally just need food to eat. So we try to hit a range of people and help as many kids as we can,” said Noyes.
The meals are provided through donations by individuals, merchants and businesses. “Right now we are feeding around 95 kids, so that’s close to about $1,000.00 every weekend. So we have amazing community members who are giving us donations every week and on our Facebook group page, called Carbon Caring for Kids we put a list of those needs so whatever we’re missing we ask for those specific items and people jump on those as fast as they can,” added Loveless. The moms are hoping to maintain this as a community effort and will be giving feedback on their Facebook page.
Businesses that have been a part of this mission so far and are donation drop off locations are Loveless Ash, Jake Mellor Financial, Tougher Gym, Dance Technica, Caption Call and USU-Eastern Nursing Association.
Due to the upcoming Christmas holiday items for the food kits will need to be a bit larger. “Right now we’re trying to bring in as much as we can by Friday and then over the weekend we’ll take a count of where we are at based on the need. Then with the money donations we’ve received we go to the store to purchase those food items to fill in the gaps,” stated Noyes. On Monday, December 19 and Tuesday, December 20 at Rocky Mountain Home Care the holiday kits will be put together for families and children and volunteers are welcomed to assist with that task.
To learn more about Carbon Caring for Kids visit their Facebook page.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CARBON CARING FOR KIDS FACEBOOK PAGE