Dear caring friends,

The third annual 5th Bridge Feed My Starving Children meal-packing event was a HUGE success! Together we packaged a whopping 306,504 meals, which is enough food to feed 840 children for an entire year!

THANK YOU to the nearly 1,500 volunteers who packaged the food. THANK YOU to all of the sponsors and donors who contributed more than $52,000 to pay for the meals. THANK YOU to our event Co-chairs Kelly Irvine and Leah Rich, as well as all of the planning committee members. THANK YOU to all of the support volunteers who volunteered throughout the weekend. THANK YOU to all of the businesses and individuals who contributed goods and services to support the event. So many people shared their time, talents and treasures to make this event successful and we are grateful to you all.

If you participated in this event, loved it, and you would like to get more involved, please consider serving on next year's planning committee. It is really fun and rewarding! Contact candy@5thbridge.org or call 507-581-3017 to express interest or for further information.

The holiday season is right around the corner. If you are looking for some ways to make the season more meaningful, here are some ideas:

- Have fun, burn off some of those Thanksgiving calories and help raise money for Healthfinders, a local organization providing health care to under- and un-insured people in Rice County, by participating in the 8th Annual Jingle Bell Run on Saturday, December 12. For more details, visit jinglebellrunwalk.org or call 507-645-8887.

- Celebrate the Northfield Arts Guild's 50th anniversary and enjoy a fun-filled evening while raising money to support Arts Guild programs. The Beaux Arts Ball will be held on December 19 at Carleton's Great Hall. Tickets are available at the Northfield Arts Guild office.

- Gather your family and/or friends and go caroling in your neighborhood.

- Bake cookies or other goodies and deliver them to the staff at the safety center, hospital or nursing homes as a way of saying "thanks" for working during the holidays.

- Offer to help an elderly neighbor or single mom shovel snow or get their homes ready for winter.

- Volunteer your childcare services to someone you know with small children to allow the parent(s) to run holiday errands.

Visit our website 5thbridge.org for current volunteer opportunities and check out our list of over 300 volunteer ideas.

Thank you for all that you do to make a difference! We hope you have a safe and wonderful holiday season!

Candy Taylor and your friends at 5th Bridge