Local woman cares enough to make a difference

BY JILL STALLCUP

At one time or another, we have all heard a story that makes us want to do something to help others.

Unfortunately, most of us never follow through with those thoughts. There are people in Madison who are making a difference to others locally and in distant countries; Jackie Meyers is one of those people.

Meyers

One of the youth Sunday school groups started collecting money to support Lunches for Learning as their project four years ago, and Meyers thought it was a wonderful idea. That same year, Meyers heard Ron Hicks, founder and president of Lunches for Learning, speak and she was so moved that she knew she had to find a way to get involved. Meyers was born in Honduras and felt a need to help the children of that country. Not only did she decide she was going to do something, she invited others to join her in making a difference in the life of school children in Honduras.

Each October, Meyers and her volunteers hold an event at Messiah Lutheran Church in Madison, to raise money for the Lunches for Learning organization. They serve a lunch of Honduran tacos and sell donated handmade items. The handmade items range from homemade cookies to quilts. Donations begin to be gathered the first week of October, they are then cataloged and priced. Each item is donated and all the money made from the sale of the items goes directly to Lunches for Learning.

It all started the first year with Meyers planning to just serve a taco lunch to raise money, and then she had the idea to ask 20 people to donate two handcrafted items each to sell at the luncheon. That first event went so well that the next year over 800 items were donated and her efforts were able to sponsor and entire village school for a year. This year’s luncheon and craft event featured 35 craftsmen with over 1000.

“All of the crafts are donated,” Meyers said. “No one gets paid for their work. And the workers are wonderfully dedicated. It takes a lot to put everything together.”

The money goes to providing a hot meal for the children of the school. “The really neat thing about it, is that the parents of the school do all of the cooking for the children,” Meyers said.

If you know of someone from Madison, who is making a difference in the world and would like him or her recognized please contact Jill Pridham at pridham58@gmail.com