The Wells County kid’s food backpack program “Feeding Tomorrow’s Future Today” recently received a charitable grant of $25,000 from the Valero Benefit for Children thanks to the Valero Texas Open golf tournament and associated events.
Backpack program volunteers Susan Girod and Gretta Nussbaumer stated that they were overwhelmed with the generosity of the staff at Valero. “The gift will go a long way and will be put to good use as we purchase the needed food supplies for the weekly bags. We really appreciate their outstanding support as we work together in making a difference with the hunger issue in our community.”
More than $23 million in net proceeds from the Valero Texas Open golf tournament have been distributed to agencies and community service organizations across the United States, supporting the work of hundreds of outstanding charity partners like the Feeding Tomorrow’s Future Today.
In Wells County, Valero Renewables operates the ethanol plant at the southwest edge of Bluffton. The 70 employees and staff each year have volunteered with the backpack program by helping pack food bags several times during the school year and collect needed food items to assist the program.
The backpack program distributes approximately 150 bags of food each week to hungry kids for the weekend and is coordinated by 4-H volunteers with assistance from the Purdue Extension Service – Wells County Office. Various groups volunteer to help pack the bags and other volunteers transport them to the nine participating schools. For more information about the program contact Gretta Nusbaumer, 765-499-1412 or Susan Girod, 260-827-8393.
