Yay, recess!
And students rush out in a flurry to catch the season's wintery snowflakes.
But a few in Marshalltown aren't able to do that.
So JBS - along with United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1149 - are teaming up to help area kids bundle up.
"We understand from the schools that there are children who cannot go onto the playground because they don't have the necessities to keep them warm and able to play," said JBS' Human Resources Director Tony Harris. "That means the children are not coming to school wearing what they need."
In the company's contract with UFCW, money is provided for its Multicultural Program which allows the Local to participate in how funds are spent within the community.
Donations often are made to various projects, Harris said, but for this venture two Poulan Pro snow blowers and three Panasonic 42-inch plasma televisions were purchased. They are being raffled off to JBS employees throughout the month of December.
A check will then be issued to Jack Shepherd, principal of Woodbury Elementary School, for equal distribution among the area's six elementary schools, according to UFCW Local President Roger Kail.
"We wanted to do this and give something to the community," he said. "And helping the kids was what we had in mind."
Harris said both organizations are looking for a local retailer that will step up and give the schools a discount on needed clothing.
"It's important to all of us that whatever we donate, the money to goes to the end user - the person who has the need - as opposed to a portion of it going to an agency or something along that line," he said.
At $1 per ticket or $5 for six, employees are hoping to score one of the valued prizes, and with 100 percent of the proceeds going toward comfy-cozy wearable's like mittens, hats, coats and boots, it's considered a win-win for all involved.
Plus, both the Super Bowl and a huge snowfall are inevitable.
"We talked to the teachers, therefore they will know better who needs what," he said. "And in the process, some of our employees will go home with some nice stuff."
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Contact Tammy R. Lawson at 641-753-6611 or tlawson@timesrepublican.com
