Thanks to the combined efforts of the Educational Coalition for Monroe County (ECMC) and Marathon High School’s Champions for Change club, 125 Marathon families had their holidays fully stocked with food and presents for their children. Following a detailed screening of students at the school, the groups were able to identify students in special circumstances experiencing financial hardships or difficulties in accessing basic needs, including food insecurity.
Once the groups identified a genuine need, each selected student was asked to fill out a wish list. Through the generosity of local grants, businesses, churches, organizations and individual donors, the club was not only able to fulfill these wish lists, but provide a drive-through food distribution for the students’ families at the time of present pick-up on Dec. 17.
Through their efforts, the groups amassed more than $75,000 worth of donated toys, along with hundreds of dollars in food donations from hams, turkeys and pork shoulders to fruits, vegetables and pies.
