The Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas recently awarded a $1,000 mini-grant to help fund the Decatur School District’s first Food and Fun Pack Giveaway.
A group of Decatur School District teachers, staff and volunteers recently gathered in the Decatur High School parking lot to give families in need food and other items to help sustain them through the remaining summer months.
“I’d like to thank you again [Patrick O’Sullivan, Blue & You Foundation and your staff] for joining me in the Food and Fun Giveaway project for Decatur families,” said Andrea VanSandt, SPARK program director for the Decatur School District. “It really was a special event.”
During the event, they gave away 310 activity packs, more than 600 books, 200 bags of apples, 200 boxes containing tomatoes, avocados, lettuce, onions, tortillas and cantaloupes, 100 pounds of cheese and more than 1,800 pounds of frozen, pre-cooked fajita chicken.
In all,19 businesses and organizations partnered with the Decatur schools to provide food and fun packs to Decatur families.
“While the Blue & You Foundation makes some large grants in Arkansas, this project in Decatur is an example of how a more modest grant of $1,000 can help bring community partners together to help their neighbors,” said Patrick O’Sullivan, executive director of the Foundation. “We have now provided more than 1,900 such mini-grants to organizations and communities in all 75 counties and will accept new applications again starting in January.”
The Blue & You Foundation is a charitable foundation established and funded by Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield to promote better health in Arkansas. The Foundation is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and serves the state of Arkansas. It is a 501(c)(3) organization.