No Child Goes Hungry fundraiser continues
Pinehurst Elementary School students eat lunch in their newly built cafeteria.
Molly Roberts
This article has been edited after print.
KELLOGG — The No Child Goes Hungry fundraiser started by humanitarian Billie Jolliff, has currently been able to distribute $13,000 to different Silver Valley schools to help pay off the lunch debt students have accumulated throughout the school districts.
Jolliff, a Silver Valley local with two granddaughters who live with her and attend the Kellogg School District, started the No Child Goes Hungry fundraiser after her 13-year-old granddaughter called her in a panic.
Since then, Jolliff has successfully paid around $13,000 of student lunch debt through the community’s help and her steadfast commitment to the cause.
“We’ve been able to pay off Wallace High School, Wallace Junior High, all of Kellogg, Pinehurst Elementary and Canyon. We did that for a couple months, and so far we have distributed about $13,000.”
Jolliff later found out that while money was distributed to the Wallace School District, Silver Hills Elementary School was not included.
“I ended up calling Silver Hills, who said that the lunch debt for their school was $6,800.”
An issue that Jolliff and her newly created committee have discovered is the amount of debt within the different school districts continues to increase while the donations coming in are decreasing.
“I’ve been trying to come up with ways to raise money, because I can’t sustain the funds going into the schools.”
One way parents in the Silver Valley can assist with this issue is by checking if their school-aged child is qualified for free or reduced lunches.
The News-Press previously reported that last year in the Kellogg School District, all students received free breakfast and lunch under the United States Department of Agriculture’s Seamless Summer Option. However, the program wrapped up at the end of the previous school year — so at the start of this year, every student had an account number, with a balance of the allotted money paid by their parents.
Students can still qualify for free and reduced lunches after their parents complete the appropriate paperwork. The paperwork is available online on the Kellogg School District and Wallace School District websites.
Down the road, Jolliff and her committee will host fundraisers, auctions and more to raise money to pay off the negative balances.
“The kids are our future,” said Jolliff, “And they deserve to have a hot meal.”
Jolliff started a Facebook page, providing updates and giving individual thanks to those who have donated. You can find the page on Facebook by searching "No Child Goes Hungry."
Donations can be deposited to US Bank in the “No Child Goes Hungry” account.
For more information, call or email Billie Jolliff at 208-661-8708 and billiejolliff@yahoo.com.
Donations can also be made directly to the school districts
Kellogg School District: 800 Bunker Ave, Kellogg, ID 83837
Wallace School District: 501 Western Avenue, P.O. Box 267, Silverton, ID 83867
Silver Hills Elementary: 1246 E Mullan Ave, Osburn, ID 83849