A Better Region 8: Gator Giveaway a huge success

(KAIT) -All I can say is wow! This year’s John Deere Gator Giveaway for area food banks was the biggest yet.

Friday night on Region 8 News at 6, we gave Jason Aldean’s personal off-road vehicle and lawnmower to two lucky folks here in Region 8.

Country music star Jason Aldean and our own Greenway Equipment donated the gator and mower to raise money for the Backpacks for Kids program.

The raffle-style fundraiser raised $250,000!

All of the money will be split equally between the Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas, the Food Bank of Central Arkansas, and the Southeast Missouri Food Bank.

That’s a lot of money, but the need is large. Right here in the breadbasket of the world, one in four children does not have enough to eat.

If you put pen to paper, that’s over 25,000 children right here in Region 8 that do not know whether or not they will have food to eat when they go home from school each weekend.

Thanks to your donations, the food banks will fill backpacks with food so our kids can focus on being kids.

Thank you to Jason Aldean, Greenway Equipment, and to those of you who donated to this very important program.

You make this a Better Region 8.