Medford residents have a chance to combat hunger in their community and around the country thanks to an ongoing collection run by The Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
Medford’s St. Vincent de Paul is just one of many non-profit organizations across the country participating in the 17th annual Feinstein $1 Million Challenge to Fight Hunger.
Alan Feinstein, a philanthropist and humanitarian from Rhode Island, started the fundraiser in 1998. His non-profit group, the Feinstein Foundation, collects money for the drive every March and April, with a portion returned to the participating non-profits. More than 3,000 organizations nationwide take part in this drive each year.
“He commits $1 million to non-profit agencies that participate in the Fight for Hunger program,” said John Kallelis, president of the Medford Society of St. Vincent de Paul. “He matches dollar for dollar cash as well as food.”
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is participating in this program for the third year. Kallelis said he came across the program just browsing online one day. The society was able to get the drive off the ground thanks to a high school student volunteering with St. Vincent de Paul at the time.
“We had a young man that went through an Eagle Scout program,” Kallelis said. “At that time, we were in the process of expanding the store. So I asked him to build shelving for our store and to participate in the challenge.”
The help of high school volunteers has made this particular drive successful. High school volunteers have taken time to collect food and donations in supermarkets around Medford.
Kallelis said the Medford society has food drives running all year long and through various organizations. The Challenge to Fight Hunger is beneficial, however, as the organization receives much-needed money back from the Feinstein Foundation. The organization has March and April to collect food and cash donations to the cause.
“In May, we send in a statement on how much we collected,” Kallelis said.
After receiving the reports from the participating organizations, the Feinstein Foundation sends its matching donation back to St. Vincent De Paul. Kallelis said they usually receive a check from the organization around June or July. The foundation rewards between $250 and $35,000 to each non-profit, depending on how much money was raised.
Last year, Kallelis said the society raised more than $9,000 for the challenge. The donations help to stock the food pantry, which serves Medford and four other surrounding communities.
“It’s a good program and if we get a couple hundred dollars out of it, it goes a long way,” Kallelis said.
The Challenge to Fight Hunger is run through St. Mary of the Lakes church and school. Parishioners and members of the community are encouraged to make food and monetary donations at both locations.
Community members can also donate by sending food, cash or checks to the society’s Caring Center on Jones Road. Donations must be received by April 30 to be reported for the Challenge to Fight Hunger.
