Helping Hands for Haiti smashes its goal - East Idaho News
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Helping Hands for Haiti smashes its goal

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IDAHO FALLS — Some 500,000 meals left Idaho Falls Saturday to help feed orphans in Haiti.

“We crushed our goal,” Idaho Falls Rotary Club spokesman Greg A. Weitzel said. “Our goal was to raise enough money for 100,000 meals and get 200 volunteers to pack them, but instead we had 250 volunteers and packed 500,000 meals. It was a huge success, it couldn’t have gone any better.”

The event, Helping Hands for Haiti, was hosted by the Idaho Falls Rotary Club in partnership with Kids Around the World, a global nonprofit. Local volunteers spent Saturday morning at Skyline High School packing dehydrated rice and potato meals. The meals are uniquely packed with vitamins, minerals and seasonings.

“These meals are specially fortified so they can take a child (suffering from) malnutrition and in no time make them healthy,” Weitzel said.

Helping Hands for Haiti was able to exceed its goal thanks to large food donations from local corporate and philanthropic sponsors. Idahoan Foods donated 1,000 cases of mash potatoes and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints donated some 288 cases of pearl potatoes equaling about 400,000 meals.

The Idaho Falls Area Humanitarian Center also donated 100 school supply kits, 100 hygiene kits and 100 infant-care kits. The Idaho National Laboratory was a major service volunteer with some 60 INL employees volunteering at the event.

For information about Helping Hands for Haiti visit the project website.

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