Frankfort Family Raises $51K To Help Feed Hungry Children

FRANKFORT, IL — When Jeff and Kari Kemerer first started raising money in 2015 for Kids Around the World, they did so to try to instill into their children — Luke, now 15, and Lila, now 13— a sense of global community and giving back. That first year, the Kemerers raised $13,386 and 53,544 packed meals. This year, the family more than tripled those totals by raising $51,000 and packing 188,888 meals.

"My wife and I were trying to think of something to do for our kids that shows them there's other things than Frankfort, Illinois, right?! So, we were trying to get them involved in giving back and being a better person, and we started looking into activities we could do. And there wasn't anything for them at their age when we talked about this."

That led the Kemerers to search out something that their children could participate in. They had friends in the northern suburbs who participated in Kids Around the World, a Rockford-based charity that provides meals to children around the globe, and the Kemerers decided that would be perfect for them, Jeff Kemerer said.

Kids Around the World told the Kemerers that it would be willing to send down the meals for them to pack if they could raise $5,000. Well, they did that and more, and that started the now seven-year-long tradition.

"Each year it's kind of spiraled, not out of control, but in a great way, obviously" Jeff Kemerer said. "It's definitely blossomed into something this community seems to love and want to do. Plus, it's local, so people have been coming out of the woodwork to participate."

Three full-sized moving trucks showed up at the Kemerers' home on Friday, filled to the brim with the more than 180,000 meals that the family and their friends would get packaged and ready to be sent off around the world by Sunday afternoon.

In years past, the Kemerers had held their yearly food packing event at Camp Manitoqua and Retreat Center in Frankfort; however, the pandemic caused the event to be moved the past two years to the Kemerers' home, also in Frankfort.

The food packing operation would run similarly to how a production line works in a factory. The food would be delivered on a Friday, the Kemerers would get about 10 tables, or stations, set up, and volunteers would come in on Saturday to work in shifts to get everything packaged and ready for distribution.

When the pandemic struck, the Kemerers didn't let the loss of their original venue discourage them; they simply moved the base of operations to their home.

"[The pandemic] kind of put a wrench in things, and we still wanted to do it during COVID just because of, you know, what it offers, and people were receptive to it," Jeff Kemerer said. "Kids Around the World said instead of getting everyone together, which we can't really do anymore, they set up what's called a Serv@Home where they would come in and give us the kits, and people would then take those kits [to be filled]."

Those kits are made up of: red lentils; PhytoBlend, which is a combination of 24 essential vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients; a dehydrated vegetable blend; and fortified white rice, according to information on the Kids Around the World website.

Jeff Kemerer said getting people to help pack the meals has so far been the easy part — they get about 500 people who help out; it's raising the funds that's harder. This year, the top three donors were Griffith Foods, BlackEdge Capital and Tom Luscombe State Farm Homewood, Jeff Kemerer said.

"It's hard to ask people for money, and everyone has their own causes that they like to contribute to each year," Jeff Kemerer said.

The Kemerers specifically chose the holiday season to participate in the Kids Around the World program because they wanted to teach their children the importance of giving back, Jeff Kemerer said.

"Everyone's worried about the next video game or whatever it is, but there are literally kids dying [around the world] who could definitely use the food and the nourishment and the meal. That's why we do it over the holiday season," he said.

When asked if he had any advice for those looking to also give back this holiday season, Jeff Kemerer said: "My advice is be kind, be nice, do well onto others," he said. "... My advice is, I guess, that. I don't know if that's the best answer, but it feels good to give back. And more people should be trying to do that, especially with today's society and the way this world is now."

For more information on how to donate or volunteer in future events, visit the Kids Around the World website.