Knox County

About The Knox County Chapter

A big thank you to the Mount Vernon High School Key Club. Students collected 124 cans of beans, corn, gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, and boxed stuffing valued at $104.06. Food items will be used to fill the Thanksgiving meal boxes provided by the Knox County Chapter of the Byron Saunders Foundation. Making a difference … One meal at a time! Thank you MVHS Key Club!!

The Knox County Chapter of the Byron Saunders Foundation hosted a Turkey Day in May food drive on Saturday, May 25, 2019, at three locations:
– Aldi in Mount Vernon
– Kroger in Mount Vernon
– Hometown Market in Centerburg

Thanks to the generosity of the community, we collected 203 food items valued at $189.85, plus $31.07 in cash donations.  Dollars are still coming in from a round up program held May 25 at Southside Diner in conjunction with Turkey Day in May.  Diners contributed about $40 and the number is climbing.

Thanks to the generosity of our friends in Centerburg, the Knox County Chapter collected 90 food items valued at $94.84, plus $22 in cash donations during The Turkey Day in May food drive at Centerburg Hometown Market.

The Knox County Chapter was established in 2003. That first year, the chapter provided a Thanksgiving meal for 20 families in Knox County. That number has grown to more than 3,000 families receiving meals in the past 15 years.

“The Thanksgiving One Meal At A Time project is exciting because Thanksgiving is a holiday that is often overlooked, yet it’s a time when families should be together, and a time to give thanks for what we do have” said chapter founder Ginny Williams. “Providing a Thanksgiving meal that the family members can prepare together helps strengthen families, which, in turn, helps strengthen our communities.”

“We are grateful to the many volunteers, businesses and community members who have helped make a difference in the lives of many families,” said Williams. “But the need is great – we must continue to strive to provide encouragement, hope and food, in a dignified manner, to these families.”