Members of the Columbus Police and Fire departments, as well as their families, on Saturday helped pack more than 80,000 meals for children in Haiti.
The event was hosted by 1C Church and saw the participation of numerous area businesses, organizations and residents.
“It was a great project to be a part of and was amazing to see so many community members and organizations partnering for a great cause,” Columbus Police Investigator Jeremy Zywiec said.
The event was well organized, according to police and fire officials, and saw all meals prepared in about two hours.
This marked the second year of The Columbus Community Haiti Project, which started after 1C Pastor Jim Thelen saw children there not having enough food to eat. The event was once again a partnership with Mission of Hope, a nonprofit that has “now grown from a small mission located on a barren piece of land in Haiti to a multi-country organization that focuses on partnering with local churches to help people in their communities see, feel and hear the Gospel.” Mission of Hope currently works in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
According to World Food Programme, approximately 4.7 million people in Haiti are considered “food insecure” and the country is considered to have one of the highest levels of food insecurity in the world.
(ABOUT THE PHOTO: Members of the Columbus Police and Fire departments, as well as their families, were on hand at 1C helping pack meals for the Columbus Community Haiti Project.)