The St. Dunstain's Anglican Church hall was full, hot and noisy the last Saturday night of November as 150 Starfish Pack supporters enthusiastically enjoyed the delicious pasta meal donated by Bonetti Meats while digging deep into their pockets to help fund next year's Aldergrove Rotary Starfish Backpack Program.The second annual Starfish pasta party netted enough money to fill 20 of the targeted backpacks with food for local school children in need every weekend during the 2017/2018 school year.
The Starfish Program is also thrilled to announce that for the first time since its inception two years ago, backpacks were provided for the December 2016 school holiday. Instead of filling 50 backpacks on December 16th, volunteers filled 100, ensuring the children wouldn't go hungry over Christmas.
"We hope we can continue filling backpacks for school holiday periods," Rotarian Charlie Fox exclaims.
The Aldergrove Rotary Club is committed to providing a total of 50 backpacks every year to help feed hungry kids on weekends in three local schools. The current school year is fully funded and thanks to the amazing generosity of this community, next year is well on its way.
In addition to the live entertainment and the delicious Italian fare, the highlight of the evening was the live auction, directed by the Club's very animated Charlie Fox. Few in the room could resist his urging as weekend get-aways, cases of wine, gift baskets and a boat trip were among the desirable items that went on the block. Special thanks go out to the Starfish supporters who took up Charlie's challenges and contributed to the financial success of the evening; and to the many donors who provided the items, including Bonetti Meats, Super Steve's Tires Aldergrove, Well Seasoned Gourmet Food Store, Krause Berry Farms, J.D. Farms, Big Dog BBQ, B and D Logistics and Otter Co-Op.
The Starfish Program was launched by the Aldergrove Rotary Club in the Spring of 2015 to provide backpacks full of food for the weekend to children who come to school hungry Monday to Friday. Currently every Friday afternoon a total of 50 hungry kids from Parkside and Shortreed Elementary Schools and Betty Gilbert Middle School pick up a backpack that contains enough food to share with other family members Saturday and Sunday.