Open Your Heart

Date: Dec 18 - Dec 20, 2023

Location(s):

Exhibit Hall

Category(s):

Public Events

Monday, December 18

Approximately 2,000 unassembled food totes will be delivered from Cashwise Foods to the Bismarck Event Center at 8:30 a.m. They will be assembled from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. This is only assembling the tote, not filling the tote with food. Volunteers may express their interest by emailing openyourheartmidco@gmail.com. Food totes will be retrieved from the Bismarck Public Schools and delivered to the Bismarck Event Center from 8:30 a.m. to approximately ll:00 am. Volunteers are needed for this event and require a vehicle that can accommodate 10-20 filled food totes. Anyone wishing to retrieve totes from one or more specific Bismarck Public School may express their interest by emailing openyourheartmidco@gmail.com.

Tuesday, December 19

On this day two major events will take place.

First, the donated and purchased food that was delivered to the Bismarck Event Center will be sorted, stacked, and counted. This event will begin at 8:00 a.m. and usually takes 2 to 2 ½ hours. Volunteers are needed and should arrive at 8:00 a.m. No pre-event signup is required for volunteers. Volunteers may park in the Bismarck Civic Center South Parking Lot and use the SE entrance.

The second event, which requires many volunteers, begins at 6:30 p.m. This event is the packing for the food totes that will be delivered to the families. Tables are set up, each with a particular food item. Members of motorcycle clubs fill tote boxes with staple items. The volunteers move around the tables and the food items are placed in the baskets based on the number of members in each family receiving the tote. After that is complete, which is normally not later than 9:00 p.m., tables will be taken down and the garbage will be placed in the dumpster located inside the Bismarck Event Center. Volunteers are needed and should arrive before 6:30 p.m. No pre-event signup is required for volunteers. Volunteers may park in the Civic Center South Parking Lot and use the SE entrance. Groups desiring to work a distribution table may express their interest by emailing openyourheartmidco@lgmail.com.

Wednesday, December 20

From 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., volunteers with their own vehicles will arrive at the Event Center. Volunteers will drive their vehicles into the Bismarck Event Center under the direction of the Open Your Heart staff. Volunteers waiting inside the Bismarck Event Center will load the vehicle with food totes for the drivers to deliver. Volunteer drivers may take one or more family totes and may return to make several trips. When taking multiple family's totes, volunteers will load totes that are in the same area of the city, to provide an efficient delivery route for drivers. Undeliverable totes are returned to the Bismarck Event Center. The Open Your Heart Staff will reach out to the contact person for the undeliverable totes, over the week following this event. Any totes remaining will be distributed to local food pantries.

Open Your Heart

Monday, December 18

Tuesday, December 19

Wednesday, December 20

Items