Goodfellow Fund has stepped in to help Fort Worth-area children who are missing meals
The Goodfellow Fund charity is seeking donations, but this time it’s not for Christmas clothes for kids.
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, the fund is switching its focus from clothes to food for the first time in its more than 100 years of existence.
“We realized there was really a need for that here in Tarrant County,” said Richard Greene, executive director of the fund.
A lot of children in Tarrant County rely on school meals each day, Greene said, but with the coronavirus outbreak closing schools, many kids are going without. Schools across the county have set up options for parents and students to get meals, but Greene said he thinks the people of the county can do even more.
Greene believes the Goodfellow Fund can leverage its name recognition to help spread awareness of the need for meals. The fund also gives people a place to put their money to work, even if they don’t have much to give amid the layoffs and reduced hours.
“We just had a feeling many Tarrant County residents wanted to help but didn’t feel their $5 or $15 or $25 or $50 would do much good, and then they don’t even know where to send it,” Greene said.
The money raised will go directly to the Child Nutrition Program, run by the Fort Worth school district and Tarrant Area Foodbank.
The Fort Worth school district, like many others in Tarrant County, already has a program set up to provide these meals to school children. Greene said the money raised will simply help them continue to do that.
Unlike during Christmas time, the fund doesn’t have any specific monetary goal or deadline. The efforts will be ongoing until the need has ended, Greene said.
He doesn’t believe this fundraising effort will affect the charity’s ability to raise money for its traditional Christmas clothing and shoes fundraiser.
Greene said the idea to begin raising money for meals for underprivileged children initially came from longtime donor Elton Hyder.
Hyder said he hopes the status and established procedures of the Goodfellow Fund will provide and advantage in raising money and getting it to the Child Nutrition Program.
“I was trying to think of how I could help the greatest number of individuals who have been so unfairly and significantly effected by this pandemic,” Hyder said. “As a longtime supporter of Goodfellows during Christmas i came to realize the fund could be use for the community at large.”
How to help
Send donations to Goodfellows, Box 1870, Fort Worth, TX 76101. Or visit goodfellowfundfw.com to make a secure credit card donation.
This story was originally published April 3, 2020 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Goodfellow Fund has stepped in to help Fort Worth-area children who are missing meals."