( Press 'Play' to hear story )
( Brian Wood (3rd from left) with Just a few of his Management Crew at the RimRock Walmart)
Whenever you head into a Walmart, you can expect a hello at the door when you get that cart...low prices, lots of service and lots of associates in blue vests. But it's what you don't know, but will in a moment, that might just surprise you about this Super Chain that offers everything from toothpaste to Toshibas'. They quietly help out out most if not all organizations that come their way with a hand out and a good story. Brian says the community gives them so much...its their obligation to give back ....and " its just the right thing to do." Sounds cheesy right? Hold on a minute. Brian is local boy who went to Mesa State and started out his Walmart career loading trucks...and 22 years later...he's the General Manager of the busiest Walmart between Denver and Salt Lake City...He's the real deal.
It was just 3 and-a-half years ago that Mike Berry, a financial planner here in town...saw a need. Kids in District 51 Schools were going home hungry on the weekends. He started a Program called the Kids Aid Backpack Program. Basically sending a few kids home with some food essentials to get them through the weekend. Well, that program as gone from 10 kids to now 1800 and serves the entire school district. Thanks to volunteers and donations. Enter Brian Wood and Walmart. A partnership that began pretty much from the beginning thanks to an introduction by TY Morgan from The Moose 100.7 Radio Station & MBC Grand Radio Broadcasting Company in Grand Junction...The Radio got the word out, organizing events with Mike ...and then Brian? He started rallying the Walmart troops and the donations started coming in from all over...including the superstore.
But it is now and when I got to Mike's office on this late November day, 2011 he had just opened a check from Walmart, specifically for Kids Aid the Backpack Program a whopping $40-thousand Dollars! That's a lot of zeros! Walmart in conjunction with a grant from the state...directing their community cause to fight hunger and help the program that is helping kids right here in our community.
Mike was wowed! For the obvious reason...they depend on donations from around the community to fill those bags. "The money couldn't have come at a better time...." he told me..."funds were getting low"...and he was actually thinking of cutting back on the food that went home with the kids. That thought? Its been put on hold.
$40-thousand dollars is a lot of money and will get Kids Aid through the first part of the New Year. An amazing donation from Walmart, an organization that is woven into the fabric of the Western Slope.
(Listen to Brian and Mike's Allgood News by clicking the 'play' button on the Media Player above.)
Kids Aid is always looking for donations and Volunteers if you want to Help:
You can send monetary donations to:
Kids Aid, P.O. Box 2569, Grand Junction, CO 81502
Donate Food:
If you would like to donate food to the program, please complete the following form or call Mike Berry at (970) 712-2847.
Website: http://kidsaidcolorado.org/backpack.html
(Mike Berry, Founder of Kids Aid, The Backpack Program,)