PINELLAS PARK, Fla. – In the war against hunger, there is an army of mice.
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“It’s the thought that a child is hungry, they shouldn’t be worried about where their next meal is, they should be thinking about playing outside and what they’re going to be doing on the weekend,” Gina Wilkins, CEO of ‘The Kind Mouse,’ told FOX 13 News.
Gina Wilkins says to date, the nonprofit has filled 1.9 million tummies.
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Photo courtesy: The Kind Mouse. <!–>
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“The Kind Mouse is 13 years old and we feed the chronically and food-insecure families in Pinellas and the greater Tampa Bay area,” Wilkins said.
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The kind mouse has volunteers from all walks of life, and of all ages, like 10th grader Faith. Like all the other kid volunteers, she has a mouse name: Twixie.
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“I was wanting to do something that involved kids and you can do whenever you want but still make a difference in their community,” Faith ‘Twixie Mouse” Lavere said.
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Pictured: Faith ‘Twixie Mouse” Lavere. –> <!–>
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Twixie helps to fill the bags with non-perishables called ‘mouse nibbles’ that go to kids at school or after-school programs.
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These mice in training are learning about the realities that are facing some families – and then there was another harsh lesson last September and October.
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“We originally started out after Helene. We didn’t know Milton was coming. We actually brought our outreach kids to Shore Acres and it was really a rude awakening to see all the damage. When Milton happened and all the destruction at the beaches and throughout the area, we jumped in as much as we could and to date we’ve put about $65,000 of food into the hurricane victims,” Wilkins said.
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Some of the kids receive an education about hardship, others know it before they become a volunteer.
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“Twixie, before she was adopted, was a food-insecure child. When she learned about The Kind Mouse, she approached her mother and said ‘I want to be the face of hungry children. I want to help out,’” Wilkins said.
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Just by listening, you can tell it’s hard for Twixie to tell her story, which motivates her to volunteer as many hours as she does.
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“It was very stressful. I couldn’t focus. I’m just grateful they’re getting the food they need,” Faith said.
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Pictured: Faith ‘Twixie Mouse” Lavere. –> <!–>
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In times of crisis and need and in the community we live in, there is no need to find the helpers. The helpers will find organizations like The Kind Mouse.
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“You always find out who your friends are, like when you’re sick or something, who’s going to show up and help? The community went overboard – food, money, volunteering, delivering food for us. It was really great,” Gina said.
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The organization is planning on helping more food-insecure families.
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They’re holding their ‘Mice and Dice: Casino Night’ event on March 29. You can find more information by clicking here.
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The Source: Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13’s Walter Allen.
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