Generous giving this holiday season yields bounty for O’Fallon Food Pantry
In this time of greater need, people have stepped up to answer the call with more donations. Two groups recently drove collections to the O’Fallon Food Pantry — a business, Serra Honda, and a school, First Baptist Academy.
On Monday, Serra Honda delivered two carloads of items collected in an annual drive while First Baptist Academy students delivered over 2,300 cans students collected in their yearly efforts.
Serra Honda Focuses on ‘Giving Back’
With about 100 employees at Serra Honda, management has focused on charity giving throughout the year but involves the dealership in multiple opportunities in December in honor of the holiday season, said Taylor Sisk, social media manager. It is part of their focus on “giving back.”
“We enjoy helping the community. We have our food drive that has been going on for the past month, but along with that, we also just had a toy drive, and delivered those toys to Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital to give presents to children who will be spending Christmas in the hospital,” she said.
This is the second year for the Holiday Food Drive.
“It started because we know the holidays can be a tough time for some people, and we wanted to find a way to give back. We also appreciate the city of O’Fallon, and we want to try to help the community as much as possible. So, donating to the O’Fallon Food Pantry seemed like the best way to support both causes at the same time,” Sisk said.
Surprised by generous donations
The dealership posted the food drive on Facebook and advertised around the dealership.
“The donations themselves came from our customers and our employees who dropped off stuff at the dealership or donated online,” Sisk said.
They were surprised by the generous donations, she said.
“With everything going on right now, we are kind of surprised by the amount of donations. This year we collected more than we did last year. The truck is full and starting to overflow, which is great because some people are struggling even more right now. So, it’s amazing to see that even in times of a crisis/pandemic, we can come together and help the community,” she said.
As noted, the food drive wasn’t the last project for the month.
Additional projects
Their ‘Tis the Season Giveaway is underway, and it is the first season for it.
“We are excited to be continuing to give back by supporting a local family in need. We have asked for people in the community to nominate a family that could use some extra cheer this Christmas,” Sisk said. “We will accept nominations until Dec. 18 and then choose a family by Dec. 21. If you have anyone you would like to nominate, please fill out the form on our website: https://www.serrahondaofallon.com/tis-the-season-to-be-giving/.”
Other projects this fall have focused on nonprofits in need.
“We supported breast cancer awareness in October, supported our military in November and we wear jeans every Friday to give money to local nonprofits,” Sisk said.
First Baptist Academy Continues Tradition
Every December during the past 17 years, students at First Baptist Academy of O’Fallon have worked collectively to raise money, which they would use to shop at the nearby Schnucks for priority items needed by the pantry.
This year, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the shopping trip was not possible, said Assistant Administrator Stacy Gibson.
“However, the students, who have been doing in-person learning all semester, wanted to keep the tradition alive. All grades K-12 have been collecting cans and dry goods since Dec. 1 and have collected 2,337 items,” Gibson said.
Because of that generosity, Ida Billingsley, the elementary physical education teacher, will be getting a pie in the face.
Incentive for the teachers
She offered the incentive. The deal was the teacher of the elementary class with the most cans and the teacher of the elementary class with the most cans per student could each throw a pie at her.
The first-grade class of 23 students donated 611 cans, therefore winning the most cans overall. The fourth-grade class of 12 students donated 512 cans, earning an average of 43 cans per student, while winning the most cans per student. A close runner up was the third grade of 18 students with 539 cans.
“Our school’s staff, students, and families feel so blessed and thankful that God has allowed us to continue in-person learning for the first semester of this year and we pray we are able to continue as such for the remainder of the year. We are especially blessed to have this opportunity for our students to share God’s love by meeting the needs of others in our community,” said Administrator Jackye Biehl.
Food drive hours of operation
The O’Fallon Community Food Drive has been a project of the O’Fallon Township at 801 E. State St. since 1992.
They distribute donated food to any needy resident living in the 62269 zip code. They must prove residency and people can only visit once a month.
For more information, check out the website, https://ofallontownship.org/services/food-pantry/, or call 618-624-7040.
Food Pantry hours are from 9 a.m. to noon Mondays and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays.