For the 2nd year in a row eight-year old, Weston Wesselman is having a food drive. For the past four years his family has been putting up a light display in their yard at 4225 Cove West Drive. That display has since spilled over to their neighbor’s yard. They encourage people to stop by see all the holiday lights. In 2024 Weston wanted to do more, he decided to set out a container with a sign his mom made encouraging people to donate food items. He managed to collect quite a bit of food as well as cash to donate to local non-profits. This year’s light display and food drive will start on November 24, 2025 and continue through the end of the year.
In December of 2024 a message was sent to Care Moses Lake about helping to distribute the food and financial donations. Soon after the Wesselman family also started volunteering with Care Moses Lake. Joining volunteers on Tuesdays at 4pm at Immanuel Lutheran Church to put together Care Sack lunches to feed those in need and Care Snack bags to feed local kids. They are also able to help out other non-profits with projects they need volunteers for.
Weston says, “My papa (grandpa) does a light display and food drive on the West side. I asked my parents if we could do one too! I love putting up all the lights every year. We have a big nutcracker, a big Santa and a whole bunch of Minnie and Mickey displays. This year we’re adding a Santa sleigh and a runway!”
This year Weston hopes to collect even more donations! Weston will be collecting snack items to help feed local kids. Care Moses Lake puts together 160 Care Snack bags every week that are distributed to Communities in Schools. They give the snack bags to eight local Moses Lake schools to feed kids in need. Each Care Snack bag contains a salty (individual chips, popcorn or crackers), a sweet (granola bar or krispie treat) and a cup (jello, pudding, fruit or applesauce), plus a spoon.
Weston’s mom, Tessa, says, “I love seeing my son’s eyes light up when he checks the food bin and finds new donations. He gets so excited knowing people are helping. He loves being able to personally receive donations from community members and say thank you himself. On the weekends, he even stands outside on the sidewalk handing out candy canes to people who drive by to see the lights. What started as just a fun way to give back has now turned into something that’s become part of our family. We volunteer every week now — I’ve joined the board of Care Moses Lake, and the kids volunteer on Tuesdays putting together sack lunches and snack bags. It’s been such a special experience for all of us.”
Organizer and Founder of Care Moses Lake, Michaelle Boetger says, “When we were contacted last year from Weston’s mom about helping him distribute all the food donations we were so excited and honored to partner with Weston. We love it when young people give back to our community. We hope others see what Weston has started and can think of ways they too can give back to those in need in our community. There are so many local non-profits and so many ways to show your support. A food drive is a great way to help Care Moses Lake with supplies needed to put together these snack bags. It’s a small way we can begin to help out those with food insecurities.”
If you’d like to make a financial donation towards the Care Snacks program click the button below. All proceeds stay local and support feeding local kids.