Students collect more than 1,000 boxes of cereal for Good Cheer Fund

Boxes and boxes of breakfast cereal had overtaken the offices of Leadership Johnson County.

Containers of Frosted Flakes, Fruit Loops, Honey Nut Cheerios and much more were stacked on nearly every available space. Moving around the office had become a challenge.

Everyone agreed it was a good problem to have.

All of the cereal had been donated by the local community in an effort spearheaded by the Leadership Johnson County Youth Leadership Academy. The youth leaders had taken on the campaign to support the Good Cheer Fund, the annual food distribution effort held across Johnson County over the holidays.

“It says a lot about how much we care about the community,” said Kate Pinnick, a member of the Youth Leadership Academy. “This is the first year we did this for the Good Cheer Fund. We didn’t have super-high expectations, but everyone took it upon themselves to make it successful.”

With it being their first cereal drive, the students had set a goal of bringing in 500 boxes for the Good Cheer Fund. They more than doubled that figure — collecting more than 1,000 packages of cereal for families in need.

“It’s a good item that I know families will use. Nothing is inexpensive anymore, even cereal, so it’s a blessing that these kids have taken the time and energy to collect over 1,000 boxes of cereal,” said Jacob Sappenfield, chairman of the Good Cheer Fund.

The Good Cheer Fund is an annual charity drive raising money and food to help the hungry during the holiday season. The fund was founded in 1921. That first year, $169 was donated to help feed 110 families. Now, organizers plan to serve at least 900 households due to the high demand organizers are seeing.

Food for the baskets comes from non-perishable items such as soup, boxed meals and peanut butter collected by area schools. Donations from the community are used to buy fresh food, such as produce, potatoes, meat, cheese and milk, as well as additional items to ensure families have food to eat for days after Christmas.

Leadership Johnson County has been involved with the Good Cheer Fund for decades as part of its commitment to community outreach. The organization has trained more than 800 local residents to be better leaders and contributors to the local community.

The organization’s Signature Program meets once a month and offers participants activities and assignments to focus on different aspects of leadership. The organization has grown to include special workshops and seminars held throughout the year, focusing on management, women in leadership positions and the power of innovation.

One of the newer Leadership Johnson County programs is the Youth Leadership Academy. Founded in 2019, the five-month program is designed to bring together a select group of county high school students to learn more about their community and practice leadership skills.

A major focus is organizing community service throughout the year.

This year’s class has been working on a series of different projects bettering the community. One of those was the cereal drive, created after Sappenfield mentioned to Leadership Johnson County staff about his interest in including boxes of cereal in the food distribution.

Members reached out to their own schools to motivate them to have to collection drives, and put information in local church bulletins to spread the word. Flyers were put up all over the county. People not only donated cereal, but gave money as well so the students could buy additional boxes. Organizers worked with Kroger to get a discounted rate, and were able to purchase dozens more boxes, Pinnick said.

By early December, the Youth Leadership Academy had blown past their original goal and pushed forward to 1,000 boxes.

“The biggest thing for us was just advertising it around the community and getting the word out to the whole county,” Pinnick said. “A lot of people took initiative at their own schools to start drives.”

The student’s effort is a great illustration of the support the community gives to the Good Cheer Fund, Sappenfield said. From nonperishable food drives to donating to the annual Jim Rhoades Memorial Hog Roast, people of Johnson County generously ensure families in need don’t go hungry over the holidays.

Though the food distribution is planned for Saturday morning, people can still make monetary donations to support the Good Cheer Fund. As of Wednesday, the community had donated $25,010. Last year $35,127.50 was donated in total.

Those donations ensure that organizers can plan and prepare for next year’s distribution, Sappenfield said. Money will be accepted through the end of the year.

GOOD CHEER FUND

What: An annual effort to pass out holiday food baskets to the needy throughout Johnson County. Baskets include a mix of nonperishable foods and fresh items, such as a ham or chicken, eggs, milk and cheese.

How many: About 900 baskets

When is delivery: Baskets will be distributed around the county on Saturday

How to give: Monetary donations will be accepted until the end of December. Donations can be mailed to the Daily Journal, P.O. Box 699, Franklin, IN 46131.