Charlie, 11, and her older sister, Riley, 15, have lived with their grandmother in Big Sandy since 2019. Three years ago, Charlie and Riley experienced a tragedy no child should have to endure: the sudden loss of their mother.

There is still grief, but the girls’ grandmother loves them dearly and is raising them now. They’ve also found support at school and through Big Sandy Christian Community Outreach Center (CCOC), a Second Harvest Partner Agency in Benton County.

CCOC is a daily afterschool program where kids can come for a hot meal, homework assistance, and fun, enriching learning projects. It’s also open during the summer when kids don’t have access to school meals.

“The food is really good,” Charlie says. “The hamburgers are my favorite.”

 This resource for fun, education, and healthy food is available thanks to generosity from friends like you.

Charlie’s already anticipating her time at CCOC this summer. There, she’ll join fun community service projects like collecting aluminum cans to redeem for money to put toward local water bills. And of course she loves the healthy, delicious food.

Your generosity ensures kids have the support to learn, grow, and thrive year-round. For Charlie, that means helping fuel her creative writing … something that brings her great joy.

She wants to be an English Language Arts teacher when she grows up. “I think it would be fun,” she says enthusiastically. Thank you for providing such a valuable community resource  that brings support, nourishment, and hope to kids like Charlie and her big sister Riley.