Massive Volunteer Event at Skyview Community School Will Provide Thousands of Meals

Father and son Todd and David Christianson are recruiting about 1,200 volunteers to pack meals for hungry children in a three-day event at May 22-24.

They’re also raising about $120,000 to pay for ingredients to make the meals, which will feed more than 1,400 people for a year.

“There will be people alive next year because of this event, so it’s a very fun thing to think about that,” Todd Christianson said. “We hope people kind of catch the vision and interest.”

Their project has grown considerably since they first talked last October about getting a group of 60 family members and friends to do a two-hour packing shift at a Feed My Starving Children site.

But the men said they’re confident they’ll reach their new goals, and thrilled about the interest from the schools that prompted them to expand the scope of their service project.

More Than 1,000 Students Will Participate

Todd Christianson had a connection with local schools from helping lead , he said, during which volunteers helped schools tackle projects like landscaping or building bookshelves.

Because of that connection, he said, it occurred to him that bringing a Feed My Starving Children packing opportunity to Oakdale, and allowing students to take part, could be a service to the schools.

Principals at , , , Carver Elementary and all wanted to have students participate, he said. Fifth-graders from the elementary schools and all of the middle school students will be packing meals. In all, about 1,100 student volunteers will take part.

“Really, it was an incredible response that just motivated us, because we’re propelled by people saying, ‘Yes, this is valuable,’” David Christianson said.

Skyview Elementary School Principal Carol Erickson said the event will be a “great service learning project” for students.

“I think for them to see this happening at our school, to see all of the people that are going to come together to make this possible, will be an experience that I don’t think they will ever forget,” Erickson said. “I think it will make them more aware of global hunger and hopefully after they participate, they will have that great feeling you have when you’ve been a part of something that truly makes a difference.”

Oakdale Community Invited to Volunteer, Donate

Since the event needed to span three days for all of the student volunteers to get a shift during school, there was an opportunity to do more by keeping the packing stations open after school.

Todd Christianson said he didn't want to see those packing stations sit idle in the evenings.

They decided to add two shifts each day—one from 4 to 6 p.m. and one from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.—and invite the community to volunteer during those times. About 200 volunteers can pack meals during each shift.

There will be about 1,200 volunteer slots available for community members in the evenings, he said.

“I would love to get as many people from Oakdale involved in this as possible, or people that are from 622 to join in because I think it just has a chance to be significant in the community,” Todd Christianson said.

HOW TO HELP

Volunteer: Online registration for volunteers will begin April 9 through the Feed my Starving Children website. There will be shifts from 4 to 6 p.m. and 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. May 22, 23 and 24. If you’d like to request a shift earlier than that, email SCOOPghr@comcast.net. If you’re emailing about a group, include the group leader’s name, email address and phone number, and the number of participants in your group.

Donate: You can donate online through the SCOOP website, or mail checks to SCOOP: Global Hunger Response, P.O. Box 28773, Oakdale, MN, 55128. Check out this flyer from Feed My Starving Children for easy ways to raise money.