Community Tadbitz: Eagle River Chrysler truck ensures Community Lunch Box Bottle Program drives on

I sat down with Mike McSorley, Sales Manager for Whitecourt Eagle River Chrysler to discuss the sponsorship Chrysler has with the Community Lunch Box and feature them as one of our Community Champions. During the next year this will be part of our ongoing effort to become more transparent to our community about how the Lunch Box Program is run.

We began by talking about the Community Lunch Box truck & sponsorship. McSorley said, “We were approached by Tara Baker who talked to myself and Mike Stuckless about the need for a truck. We supplied a truck to the Lunch Box to help collect all the bottles and then she got support from Venom Energy to sponsor the gas. We’re more than happy to help out organizations that give back to the community.”

Last year, one third of the Community Lunch Box’s funding camefrom the many bottles that were picked up by the CLB truck and sorted on a weekly basis. The volunteers that go around each week to the various businesses to pick up the bottles love the new truck Tara added.

It creates the opportunity for memories to be made, friendships forged and an overwhelmingly positive experience. The truck is an important asset to our program and we are very thankful,” she said. Every cent gained from these bottles goes right back into the program and back out into the community.

The Box Drop-Off Program began in 2014. This community inclusive program helps ensure the long-term durability of the Community Lunch Box. The bottle drop off program is designed to be tailor made for each business dependent on their bottle pick up needs. The money raised goes towards feeding kids and creating positive initiatives in the community.

The Community Lunch Box is currently in the process of streamlining bottle drop off locations across town. This streamline process will enable our volunteers to pick up the bottles quicker and cut back on the time spent collecting bottles.

For anyone interested in donating their bottles to the Community Lunch Box Program, they can call 780-778-8252.

Mike Stuckless (left) and Tara Baker pose next to the Community Lunch Box truck.