When seven-year-old, Ellie Leines, a second grader at Wagner Community School heard that the Needy Nook in Marty was in need of food donations, she felt sad. Ellie was sad that some people might not have any food, and she wanted to be able to help them. Ellie’s mom had shared with Ellie that she saw on Facebook that the Needy Nook’s pantry was essentially empty. Ellie with the help of her mom, Lucy, and grandma, Rose, organized a food drive to stock the shelves of the Needy Nook. The event was held at Stems and Cells on August 1st from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m.

In exchange for two food items, Ellie gave out a glass of lemonade or root beer float. Ellie made the lemonade herself, using her secret ingredient, love. The Fort Randall Casino donated concert tickets to hand out to the first twenty- five people that donated as well as the Yankton Sioux Tribe Early Childhood Program donated the root beer, spoons, lemonade and cups for the event. The event was a great success and Ellie was able to stock the Needy Nook with a nice supply of food donations, a very generous gift card and money to obtain more supplies.

When asked where she gets her giving and generous spirit from, Ellie said her mom, Lucy. “My mom tells us to be kind and it is important to help take care of people if they need help; people need food to survive,” said Ellie. Ellie is the daughter of Tracy and Lucy Leines. This is not the first time that Ellie has been a part of a food drive or volunteered to help others. WCS has done food drives that Ellie has been a part of as well as she enjoys helping her mom with the Christmas toy drive that Lucy holds annually at Stem’s and Cells.

At the end of the food drive after all the donations had been dropped off, Ellie was super happy about the outcome of the event. Ellie and Lucy took all of the donations down to the sisters at the Needy Nook on Friday, August 2nd in the early afternoon. Ellie would like to thank the community for helping her stock the Needy Nook’s shelves and assisting her in reaching her goal.

Thank you, Ellie, for using your generous and giving spirit to make a difference in the lives of local community members. The Wagner community could not be prouder of you.