Teen plans run, raffle to fight childhood hunger

Hattie Neesvig says if you're upset about a problem, you need to help be part of the solution. That's a pretty heft philosophy for any adult. Neesvig is just in seventh grade, and already has a passion for helping people.

The Thompson Falls Junior High student has a jewelry business, from which 10 percent of the profits are donated to charity. Every three months, she chooses a different charity. The 13-year-old also collects books for children each winter, sewing book bags as well. Last winter, she completed her third year of collecting books for Sanders County kids in need.

Now, Neesvig is helping fight childhood hunger through Gov. Steve Bullock and First Lady Lisa Bullock's "Montana No Kid Hungry" initiative. Fight Childhood Hunger Week is April 8-14, and Neesvig was one of 20 students in 19 different Montana communities to be chosen for the project. Students are raising awareness to the issue of childhood hunger across the state through food drives, fundraisers and other projects.

Neesvig has been gathering donations for a raffle and will present a fun run in Thompson Falls on Saturday, April 13. She has 14 gift cards and a queen-size quilt as raffle prizes. The gift cards were purchased with funds raised by Neesvig (mostly from her grandfather) and from local businesses, and the quilt was created with the help of her grandmother's quilt club in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin group sewed the quilt top, and Neesvig finished the quilting here in Montana with the help of Sarah Naegeli.

Along with donating to the quilt, Neesvig's Wisconsin relatives will be participating in the fun run from afar on April 13. "They are signing up and will run their own route there," Neesvig said.

The local fun run will include registration beginning at 9 a.m. April 13 at the NorthWestern Energy Power Park. The race will start promptly at 10 a.m. Registration is $10 for kids, $12 for adults, and donations for No Kid Hungry will be accepted. The first 50 registrants in the fun run will receive a custom cinch bag designed by Neesvig, and prizes will be given to the top male and female runners. Neesvig said that Clark Fork Valley Running Club donated $200 toward the cinch bags. The run will be just under 3 miles, Neesvig said.

Also as part of No Kid Hungry, Neesvig will have to write an essay about her fundraising project and what she accomplished, submitting pictures and information about her experience. It's similar to keeping a 4-H record book, which Neesvig is familiar with, being a member of the Whitepine Happy Workers 4-H club. The No Kid Hungry effort has included monthly conference calls with the other students involved and state coordinators.

Neesvig will donate the money raised by the raffle and fun run to Sanders County food banks.

"My goal is to lower the number of hungry kids in Sanders County," she said, noting that one in five kids go hungry in Sanders County. "I want people to be aware of the issue."

Neesvig had 500 raffle tickets printed. Her goal is to sell them all. "I know it's a big goal, but I think I can do it," she said. Tickets are $5 each or five for $20 and available at The Sanders County Ledger in Thompson Falls or by calling (406) 291-7303.