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Kindergarten students enjoy their first breakfast at the Early Childhood Center on the first day of school in 2021.
The Fort Dodge Community School District recently received a powerful gift from a local auto group.
In early September, Kemna Auto Center and Valvoline Express, of Fort Dodge, donated over $1,000 to help students with negative school lunch account balances. The money for the donation was raised during a back-to-school fundraiser Valvoline Express and Kemna held in August.
“The original fundraiser was for backpacks and school supplies,” said Bob Snider, fixed operations manager for Kemna Auto. “So if you brought a backpack in or school supplies, we would give a discount on an oil change.”
He said the business decided to also sell raffle tickets for other vehicle services. At first, he said, they didn’t have a plan for where they were going to donate the money raised. But then a manager at Valvoline heard that a free school lunch program was being discontinued and wanted to help out.
The federal government funded free school meals for all students throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Congress decided last spring to not renew the funding for that program, so this fall, families had to begin paying for school lunches again.
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Cooper Elementary School food service specialist Margo Rivas serves green eggs and ham to kindergartener Aidric Ausborn in March 2021.
In July, the school district announced that students at four schools — Butler Elementary, Duncombe Elementary, Early Childhood Center and Fort Dodge Middle School — would receive free meals through the USDA’s Community Eligibility Program. At Cooper Elementary, Feelhaver Elementary and Fort Dodge Senior High, eligible families were encouraged to apply for the free and reduced price meals program. However, not every family who might struggle financially is eligible for free and reduced meals.
“It didn’t sit well with us that that program had ended and that there’s kids that potentially would not be able to eat a hot lunch at school,” Snider said.
Kemna’s $1,066 donation was applied to the school lunch accounts of 22 families in the district, according to Jen Lane, district director of communications.
“We sincerely thank Kemna Auto and Valvoline Express for their spirit of generosity,” said Brandon Hansel, director of financial services. “What a wonderful and practical way to help our Dodger families.”
Snider was surprised to learn the impact the gift had for families in the district.
“That’s pretty overwhelming,” he said. “We’re glad that we were able to help, whether it’s one family or 22 families, we’re glad that we were able to help and we’ll continue to do so in the future.”
Kemna and Valvoline also collected about 30 backpacks full of school supplies and donated them to the public and private schools in Fort Dodge, Snider said.
“We’re very fortunate that we’re able to help,” he said. “The community gives a lot to Kemna Auto and any way we can give back, we will. … We do our best to help out as many organizations as we can.”
