For the last three years, Hannibal High School has adopted a new tradition: the Pirate Pride Day of Caring.
On their last day of classes, Hannibal High School senior class members can choose to volunteer with a local organization. This is completely voluntary!
One of the largest student volunteer groups served at Coyote Hill’s Hannibal office. These students made 40 freezer meals for local foster families in Marion, Monroe, and Ralls Counties.
Each meal consists of either a chicken potpie or a rice casserole and homemade chocolate chip cookies.
Freezer meals make a huge difference for foster families in the midst of a busy week. Foster families juggle a lot of extra therapy and doctor’s appointments, family support team meetings, and family visits, in addition to regular extracurricular activities and family commitments. A freezer meal can help alleviate stress by simplifying an evening for a family.
Family Advocates can also bring a freezer meal to a family when they welcome a new child into their home.
The first night a child is in a new foster home is full of activity—typically, families are finalizing details with their caseworker, meeting or picking up their child, and helping the child get settled into a new environment.
Providing dinner is a small way to make a busy, challenging night a little bit easier.
Our Hannibal Area Coordinator, Brittany McCaskey, said it was fun to watch these students learn and practice life skills while caring for local foster families.
“We were really surprised to find out this was optional for them. I never heard one complaint,” Brittany said. “It’s really encouraging to see young people who just want to help and serve and do that locally.”
Brittany shared that students continuously asked for new tasks after they had completed what they were doing. They even washed dishes, wiped down counters, and swept the floors without being asked. We are so grateful for these students’ heart for service and the care that they provided for foster families throughout the Hannibal area!
If you are interested in volunteering with Coyote Hill to make freezer meals, we would love to connect with you! This is a great activity for groups. We can even provide recipes and ingredients!
We are so grateful to Immanuel Baptist Church for providing their kitchen for this volunteer opportunity. Additionally, thank you to the Riedel Foundation for providing the ingredients for these meals!
If you would like to donate a freezer meal, please contact Joe Knight at joe@coyotehill.org.
Photos and quotes courtesy of Kayla Houchin, Hannibal Courier-Post News.
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