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Mt. Vernon Fight Food Insecurity
In April 2024 in recognition of National Volunteer Month, IDHS-Serve Illinois Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service announced the Fight Food Insecurity Challenge to organizations and communities statewide. According to Feeding America, in Illinois alone, 1 in 11 people are facing hunger and 1 in 9 are children Illinois | Feeding America. Among the many to heed the call, one organization rose above the rest to collect the most non-perishable food items in a single period. Angels on Assignment of Mt. Vernon and Jefferson County collected over 9,000 pounds. of non-perishable food items, most of which they shared among other non-profit organizations in the region who would go on to distribute it to those who were most in need.
On June 25, 2024 Volunteer Programs Coordinators for the Upstate and Downstate regions, Cecilia Maciel Martinez and Anthony Wanless made a special trip to Mt. Vernon to recognize over forty individual volunteers and groups that made this possible by presenting them with Office of the Governor Illinois Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service Certificate of Appreciation. Among those recognized were several representatives from District 80 Schools, The City of Mt. Vernon, Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce, Waltonville School District 1, and the Village of Bluford.
A spokesperson for Angels on Assignment and Thrift Store Manager, Lynn Lenker, and several others including Senator Terri Bryant, Representative Dave Severin, Mayor Mike Bullard, Mayor Michelle McKinney, Mayor John Lewis, David Keen, and Debbie Jones were named Honorary AmeriCorps Members in honor of AmeriCorps’ 30th anniversary celebration. Honorees took the AmeriCorps Pledge promising to “get things done” for all those in need throughout the region and the state.
On behalf of the IDHS-Serve Illinois Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service, thank you all for your dedication to service and hard work in making the Fight Food Insecurity in Illinois Challenge a huge success!