Wagons Ho Ho Ho … Hope
Eight years ago, RMD Advertising dreamed big. The agency’s team members took the first step in what would become the company’s largest charitable initiative. It all stemmed from a simple desire: to give their clients a holiday gift that would stand out from the typical corporate gift. So the agency took the money earmarked for client gifts and bought 25 red wagons, filled each with food and distributed them throughout the community to local Columbus families in dire need.
Wagons Ho Ho Ho began with that simple mission in mind. We’ve grown since that first year. Last year, we built 800 wagons and coordinated a food drive that collected more than 2,000 pounds of food for the Mid-Ohio Food Bank. And the story continues! This year, Wagons Ho Ho Ho will again be building and distributing 800 sturdy red wagons but will also be filling each one with enough food to feed a family of four Christmas dinner. 800 wagons and 2,400 Christmas dinners all assembled in one day. Over 400 volunteers make this possible.
We’re proud of this accomplishment. We realize that providing a gift and a meal on Christmas is important, but what is really important to us is what each wagon represents to its recipients … hope. It’s our way of showing these children that there is a community of people who care about them during the biggest holiday of the year.
Today, the face of the hungry has changed. 1 in 6 in Ohio experience food insecurity, meaning they don’t know where their next meal will come from. These are your neighbors and your co-workers. Sometimes, it is a matter of having to sacrifice dinner one day a week. It may even mean having to choose between buying food or medicine for a sick child. If they are struggling to buy food, how can they buy Christmas gifts for their children?
Wagons Ho Ho Ho has two major needs:
Donations. Wagons Ho Ho Ho is a one-hundred percent volunteer-run charity. All money raised purchases wagons and food to fill those wagons. Corporate sponsorships, matching programs and, of course, individual support helps with our mission. Without the love of the Columbus community, Wagons Ho Ho Ho certainly would not be where it is today.
Food. Our hope is to fill each wagon with all the ingredients needed to feed local families in need Christmas dinner. However, the hunger doesn’t stop there. We would like to invite the community to donate to the Mid-Ohio Food Bank year-round.
Every volunteer who touches Wagons Ho Ho Ho, whether by donating food, funds or their time, is an important part of the Wagons team. Won’t you consider becoming a full-fledged Wagoneer? Visit WagonsHoHoHo.org to learn more, and help to give a child HOPE for today and the future.
