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Sandy McEflresh loads her cart during a shopping spree Sunday night at Kroger in Danville. McElfresh had 15 minutes to fill her cart with as many items as possible to benefit the Soups on Us and Harvesting Hope programs. (Clay Jackson / November 19, 2012) |
A fundraiser by one organization has led to a donation to other community organizations, spreading the benefits across Boyle County.
American Legion Post 18 in Stanford raffled off a shopping spree for Kroger, which was won by Joe Teague.
Teague, a parishioner of S.S. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Danville, opted to pass his winnings along to Soups on Us, an organization based out of the church that delivers soups and sandwiches one Saturday a month to Danville residents in need. The group is one of four in the city that has a program like this, and the four rotate Saturdays.
Soups on Us decided, instead of simply shopping for itself, to also shop for Harvesting Hope Food Pantry on Fourth Street.
Sandy McEflresh, who runs the Soups on Us program, did the shopping Sunday night at Kroger after the store closed.
She planned to purchase items for the Soups on Us program and also get “smaller things that will go to Harvesting Hope.”
The rules for the spree were strict, requiring food consumed by humans, nothing taxable, and no more than five of each thing, for starters. McElfresh had to shop alone on the spree and had 15 minutes to get everything she could in her cart.
To make better use of her time, she planned to go to Kroger before the event Sunday night to scope her route.
She is thankful for the donations, as she knows how both organizations can use these to benefit individuals in Boyle County. Volunteering at Harvesting Hope, she has seen the need and how quickly food goes through the food pantry.
“Anything we can do to help Harvesting Hope is a good thing,” she said.
Donations such as this also enable S.S. Peter and Paul to use some of the service funds that might go to Soups on Us to help other programs in need in the church, according to McElfresh.
Ultimately, both Soups on Us and Harvesting Hope rely solely on the work of volunteers and the donations of others, she said, adding that these “keep the programs going.”
McElfresh said the shopping spree wouldn't have been possible without the kindness of the "good Samaritan" Teague, who donated his win to the two organizations. He simply said it was the right thing to do, because of the impact Soups and Harvesting Hope have on the community.
