OKEMOS - On February 21, Okemos Community Church hosted the Weekend Survival Kits packing session. Roughly 50 volunteers came to the event and packed 850 bags filled with non-perishable foods, including oatmeal, ravioli, fruit juice and graham crackers.

According to Many Hands, an organization that was founded in 2012 with a goal of helping families in the community, the bags will be sent to children in the community from kindergarten to fifth grade. Children are chosen to receive these kits if they qualify for free or reduced lunch.

Residents from the community volunteer at this event because they want to make a difference.

“It makes you feel good, like you’re making a difference in the community and helping out neighborhood kids that you see running around, having fun out on the streets and stuff," said Laura Messing, who regularly volunteers at Weekend Survival Kits packing sessions.

Messing volunteers so she can play a role in helping children focus in school and ensure that they are well fed.

Each volunteer played a different role at the packing session. Some of the volunteers bagged the items, while others double bagged them to make sure they were secure. Multiple people broke down boxes that were recycled later on, and children organized the bagged food in preparation for the 850 children receiving them.

The organizers of Weekend Survival Kits want to make sure that no child ever goes hungry.

“There’s food insecure kids everywhere, and we’re just trying to do whatever it takes to make sure these kids have a fighting chance to be successful," said organizer Jillain Eaton. "Food is what fuels their bodies to help them learn and focus and be successful at life.”

When the bags were packed with various non-perishable foods, Eaton told the group of volunteers that they packed the kits in record time, faster than any other group.

Before the volunteers made their way out the door and on with their lives, they gave themselves a round of applause for making a difference in their community and helping hundreds of children.