521,000 Meals Packed by Volunteers to Aid Poor Children

Rocklin, Calif.- A local effort to pack meals for malnourished children around the world successfully packed 520,992 meals over a three-day period at William Jessup University in Rocklin.

The Rocklin Feed My Starving Children MobilePack(tm) attracted nearly 2,500 volunteers from all walks of life – from children as young as 5 to seniors over 90 years old.

“So many volunteers came together to support children in need around the world – making a huge difference,” said Mike Gebhardt, one of the organizers of the event.

Organized groups of volunteers came from two dozen churches, major corporations and various civic groups from throughout the area. One of the largest sponsors of the MobilePack, Wells Fargo, sent nearly 100 volunteers to help with the packing.

While the packing is over, organizers are continuing work to raise the money needed to cover the cost of the meals at 22 cents each and $110,000 in total.

“We are still working to raise the money to pay for the cost of the meals,” Mr. Gebhardt said. “All contributions go directly to paying for meals – a donation of $22 covers the cost of 100 meals.”

Meals packed this year are expected to go to Haiti, Guatemala, and the Philippines.

The event was supported by a number of community organizations and businesses, including: Wells Fargo, sponsoring more than 45,000 meals; Valley Springs Church, St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Randy Peters Catering & Event Planning and William Jessup University, each sponsoring more than 22,000 meals; Annie’s SnoBiz, Joey Aronson of Lyon Real Estate and Southwest Airlines, each sponsoring 9,000 meals; Reeve-Knight Construction, Dignity Health/Mercy San Juan Medical Center, Chapel Hats and Halldin Public Relations, each sponsoring more than 5,600 meals; CiminoCare, Propp, Christensen Caniglia CPAs, Recology Auburn Placer, Brentwood Development, Kniesel’s Collision Centers, UNFI and Umpqua Bank, each sponsoring more than 2,800 meals.