Charitable Event on Jan. 13, to Benefit Needy Families and Idaho Children

The Idaho State Historical Society wants your help to “Make Hunger History.”

The food and fund drive will benefit The Idaho Foodbank and a scholarship fund for Idaho schools’ field trips to the Idaho Historical Museum and the Old Idaho Penitentiary.

Events begin with the “Escaping Hunger, Celebrity Lock Up” at the Old Idaho Penitentiary in Boise on Friday, Jan. 13, from noon to 7:00 p.m. Presented by The Friends of the Historical Museum, admission will be donations of canned food and cash in the amount you choose. There will be special drawings, tours, prizes and giveaways all day long.

The “Celebrity Lock Up” will take place from 6 p.m. – 7 p.m. in the historic prison. Celebrities will include news anchor Natalie Hurst; reporter Ty Brennan; columnist Anna Webb; musicians Niccole Blaze, Bill Coffey and Nate Fowler; radio personalities Rick Moorten, Kate McGwire and Mike Kasper; and Boise Rock School founder Ryan Peck.

You can pledge your donations in the name of your favorite local celebrity. The celebrity with the most donations made in his or her name will win the “Warden’s Cup” and bragging rights for the year. All monetary donations from “Escaping Hunger” will be divided between The Idaho Foodbank and a scholarship fund for Idaho schools’ field trips.

The Idaho State Historical Society’s Make Hunger History program seeks to both promote and preserve Idaho history and to assist struggling Idaho families and schools in the present. The Idaho Foodbank can stretch every $1 you donate into 3.89 pounds of food or three nutritious meals for Idaho kids. The Friends of the Historical Museum will provide field trip money to cash-strapped schools in tough economic times, allowing kids to learn about Idaho’s rich cultural past with hands-on activities and lasting memories.

Also, throughout the month of January, the Old Idaho Penitentiary and Idaho Historical Museum will provide half-priced admission to any visitor who brings two canned food or non-perishable food items for the Foodbank.

For more information about “Escaping Hunger Celebrity Lock Up” or “Make Hunger History,” call the Old Idaho Penitentiary at 334-2844 or the Idaho Historical Museum at 334-2120.

Editor’s note: The lock-up was a huge success. The preliminary tally is 1,280 cans of food and $1,400. Half  the money will come to the Foodbank, along with all the food. The other half of the money raised goes to the Friends of the Historical Museum for a fieldtrip scholarship fund to the Old  Pen and the Historical Museum. Rick Moorten, from Wild 101 radio, won the Warden’s Cup with a barrel overflowing with food within minutes of lock-down. Thanks to the Friends of the Historical Museum, all the locked-up celebrities, the generous donors and everyone involved who made this event such a big success.