One of the largest problems children throughout the country face during the summer is finding meals for lunch. Hillsboro Area Hospital, in conjunction with the USDA and Illinois State Board of Education, is hosting a free summer lunch program for children ages eighteen and under through July 29th. As a retired teacher, program volunteer Pam Dawson knows first-hand about the lack of nutrition children face.

"I spent many years knowing that we were feeding kids through the school year, and then summer would come and we thought that they magically would eat. When I retired, it became a project I became interested in and I actually saw a flier from another hospital in the area that was doing some kind of program and I went and talked to them. I approaced our churches at first, but they just didn't have the facilities to do that. So I went to our hospital, met with Roseanne Heck for the first time, and within about an hour we had a go."

Roseanne Heck, director of community relations with the hospital says that while they are a sponsor, they do have help from government agencies like the USDA and state board of education. According to Dawson, besides that sponsorship, the support from the community has been helpful.

"The Sertoma Club has helped us with transportation. We have a lot of private citizens who are sending in donations. Through the school district, we use a bus and a bus driver; but we have to pay for that, so through private donation, we've been able to do that. We also have tons of volunteers who come to the hospital everyday to help us out from all over the community."

If you're interested in volunteering, contact Hillsboro Area Hospital today.

-David Jenkins
June 14, 2016