Local organization providing Thanksgiving boxes

A local organization is coming together to help those in need for the holidays.

Members from the Marathon County-based organization Community Strong 4U are working together to prepare boxes of Thanksgiving food for those who are in need in the Wittenberg-Birnamwood School District. Community Strong 4U is an organization aimed at raising money to help those in need in communities in Marathon and Shawano County.

“We will be handing out our Thanksgiving boxes, the weekend before Thanksgiving,” said Community Strong 4U member Jessica Kubichek. “(Community Strong 4U) started just over a year ago and we just were looking for something more local for people to depend on for help.”

Included in the Thanksgiving boxes are ham, potatoes, vegetables, cranberries, stuffing, gravy, buns and a desert. Kubichek said that most of the food that is going out to families has been donated from other community members.

“At this point, it is the people who end up on our list that receives these boxes,” said Kubichek. “At this point, we don’t have many names on our list. We have a signup on Facebook, for those interested.”

In terms of helping local communities, Kubichek said that organization tries to stay in the Wittenberg-Birnamwood School District to help those in need close to home. She added that anyone can sign up for a box, but warned of the limited supply of boxes.

“It does say that we only have so many baskets, so we will try our best to fulfill every request, but we might not be able to,” said Kubichek.

Kubichek said that although the organization packed boxes for Easter, this is it’s first true experience with Thanksgiving.

“It has been going really well, actually,” said Kubichek. “We have been doing a lot of fundraisers to try and make the money to purchase the products that we are not going to get, but when we tell people what we are doing, they are interested in donating. It has been going very well.”

Kubichek said that organization members have been hearing a strong reception, something that she said aligns with Community Strong 4U’s mission statement of bringing joy and happiness to people in need.

“We love it, that was our ultimate goal — to try and get our name out there, so we can continue to support,” said Kubichek.

She added that those interested in participating with the organization can send an email to CommunityStrong4U@gmail.com or find the organization on Facebook at Community Strong 4U.

lreimer@newmedia-wi.com