This Saturday April 23rd, we will be joining the City of Canton’s Earth Day activities with our 2022 Backpack the Bus event to benefit Stark County Hunger Task Force (SCHTF). Our donations will be used to provide food for SCHTF’s backpack program that will feed children in the Canton City school system over the summer when it is so needed.
Plans are coming along well and it promises to be great weather, so we need your help to make it a rousing success!
 
Here’s how you can help:
 
1. Work the event - we need four volunteers for each of five shifts over the day starting at 7:30a to 4p. The first and last shifts are only one hour where we are in need of able-bodied volunteers to lift things like water, tables, chairs, etc. for set up and tear down. The three, two-hour shifts in between consist of helping run the event doing things like manning the corn hole, helping with donations, etc. 
 
Here’s the link to sign up to volunteer (and have FUN!). If you have difficulty reserving your time, I’d be happy to register you. Call me at 330.754.9699 or email me at psmast@yahoo.com and we’ll get you taken care of. Please consider helping us that day!
 
 
2. Bring food donations this Friday - We’ll be collecting items at the meeting this Friday. Remember, we are asking for non-perishable items like fruit snacks; individual serve mac and cheese and Chef Boyardee, chips and pretzels, crackers, oatmeal packets and juice boxes. If you want to buy in bulk, all the better, and we’ll happily accept cash to do the shopping ourselves.
 
3. You can Venmo a donation - We can accept financial support through our Venmo page at @CantonRotaryCharitableFund. You’ll be able to take it as a tax deduction as it’s going through our charitable fund. 
 
4. Please promote our event -  The posters from our club and from the City of Canton are in this article. Please re-post on your Facebook page, share with friends, and/or do all you can to get folks to come out. It’ll be a great day of family fun!
 
5. Additional fun - We have face painting from noon to 4p and corn hole at our location too. 
 
SCHTF will be there with one of their trucks to accept non-perishable food donations. In addition, we have gotten a $2000 grant from RI to spend on food so we will be pre-loading the truck to kick off the effort. 
 
The last attachment below is a map and listing of the other organizations that will be participating. We’re in good company.
 
And finally I’d be remiss if I didn’t recognize our partners. In addition to SCHTF, we’d like to thank the City of Canton for allowing us to crash their event, and Employer’s Health which is working with President Mark to provide donations and possibly a few volunteers too. We’re grateful for the assistance! 
 
If you have questions or need to speak with someone, you have my contact information above, or you can also contact Jennie George. We hope you can help for a great cause this weekend! 
 
Yours in Rotary,
Paula (Mastroianni)