Volunteering to help others: Residents of all ages helped package 10,000 meals for Rise Against Hunger at last year’s event in Nederland. PHOTO BY MARGIE YANSURA[/caption]

Residents from throughout the Peak to Peak region are invited to join a fun event for all ages as we Rise Against Hunger. Volunteers will meet at TEENS, Inc., 151 East Street in Nederland, on Thursday, September 28 from 6 - 8 p.m. to package 10,000 meals. The meals will be provided to the international organization Rise Against Hunger which will distribute them internationally to alleviate hunger.

All ages are invited to participate. The meal packing is organized along an assembly line format, with volunteers scooping the food, others weighing it, others placing it in sanitary plastic bags while others pack the meals in boxes for shipping. Individuals can join the effort, along with families, and teams from businesses and civic and religious organizations. In other words, everyone of all ages are encouraged to join the effort. If someone needs to be seated while packaging the food, this can be easily accommodated.

Rise Against Hunger is an international organization that has been supporting the global effort to end world hunger since 1998. The organization has packaged more than 17 million meals through volunteer efforts.

Nederland Community Presbyterian Church is organizing the event for the eighth year. To fund the project, the church will sell fresh evergreen Christmas wreaths for $32 each from September 28 - October 28, with delivery beginning November 15. Funding has also been received through a grant from the Lions Club of Nederland and Peak to Peak Rotary. Other sponsors are needed and welcomed.

“We are looking forward to our Peak to Peak community coming out in force again to support this very worthwhile effort,” said Nederland Community Presbyterian Church Mission Elder Paula Gipp, who is leading the project. “We thank the Lions Club of Nederland and Peak to Peak Rotary for their support and encourage others to provide financial support for this program so that we can continue it into the future.”

To register yourself or a team, or to become a sponsor, please contact Paula Gipp via email at gipp.paula@gmail.com or at 303-328-5863. There is no fee to participate. Snacks will be provided to participants at the event.