By Meladi Brewer

DailyAdvocate.com

GREENVILLE — The Red & Yellow Black & White Gala 2024 will take place April 5th.

Dust off your dancing shoes and don your best suit and dress for an unforgettable evening of dinner, dancing, and two auctions. This semi-annual event will hep provide school-age children with a ‘backpack’ of food for them to home in the weekends throughout the school year.

The mission of the BackPack Program helps meet the needs of hungry children by providing them with nutritious and easy-to-prepare food to take home on weekends and school vacations when other sources are not available. With the idea of “how can a child focus on solving a math problem or memorize a new word she or he is trying to ignore the persistent pangs of hunger?”, the BackPack Program are able to provide for nearly 450,000 children each year.

The Feeding America BackPack program is changing the lives of families in need. For $2 per student per week ($80 per school year), the program can provide easy-to-prepare meals for K-4 students over the weekend. Though the group is thankful for such a small cost, but the price has doubled in the last year. This reality means they need the communities help even more, as their goal is to raise $50,000 this year.

“It takes a village to help a community,” Kelly Fliehman said.

Volunteers assemble the sacks of food, then distribute to the schools on Fridays. Designated school volunteers deliver to classrooms where teachers confidently slip the bag into the student’s backpacks. Darke County currently has seven schools participating in the program: Ansonia, Arcanum, Bradford, Franklin Monroe, Greenville, Tri-Village, and Versailles. This is 306 packs per week total for all the schools.

The Gala is a fun way to raise funds to continuously provide these needed meals to the community. Come fill a backpack with funds as you dance the night away or at least until midnight at Romer’s Catering in Greenville. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m. Cost for tickets at $45 per person, and corporate tables are available for $600. Don’t wait too long, as tickets are selling fast.

Monetary donation can be given as well for those who would still like to contribute. All checks can be made payable to: Helping Every Little Person, Inc., Credit Card payments will be accepted with a convenience fee, and cash and venmo will be excepted at the username @PeggyJean8805.

Peggy Follrod is the Co-Chair and is the contact for all donations and ticket purchases. To reach Follrod call 937-417-4634.

The Helping Every Little Person, Inc. would love to thank all donors, sponsors, and the community for contributing to the cause, as many lives are impacted by their generous donations and commitment to giving back. Another special thank you is being sent out to the committee for stepping up with all of their special talents to make this Gala possible. Their hard work and dedication has not gone unnoticed.

For more information regarding the Red & Yellow Black & White Gala, visit them on Facebook at Red & Yellow Black & White Gala 2024.

To contact Daily Advocate Reporter Meladi Brewer, email [email protected].