EDWARDSVILLE - In a time when law enforcement officers have been targets across the country, an 8-year-old Edwardsville girl and Doc's Smokehouse have combined for moving a fund-raising campaign called “Feed The Force.”
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Doc Richardson of Doc's Smokehouse at 1017 Century Drive in Edwardsville was captivated by young Sammi and Lisa Reifsteck’s ambition to conduct the campaign to feed law enforcement officers and wholeheartedly wanted to participate. Doc constantly tries to find ways to give back to the community and this fit perfectly into his business’ approach.
“Sammi had started to collect money from around her subdivision to buy meals for police officers,” Doc said. “We are proud to lend a helping hand in fulfilling her dream. Officers will be able to come to Doc’s Smokehouse and have their meal on us soon.”
The decision to start Feed The Force came when Sammi said to her father: “Daddy, I want to help police officers. Maybe we could buy them dinner or do something nice for them."
This led to a Reifsteck family conversation about a movie they watched called “The Little Red Wagon.” The movie is about one boy's idea that helped turn around a broken community after a terrible disaster.
“Sammi was very inspired by the movie and has been trying to find the right opportunity to do something big for her own community,” her mother, Lisa Reifsteck, said. “In light of the recent events, God put this on her little heart and we are going to do everything we can to help fulfill her journey to ‘Feed the Force’.”
When asked, what does this mean to her, 8-year-old Sammi responded, "It makes me feel very good inside that I am helping the police and that other people want to help too. I hope we can raise $5,000 to feed them for a long time."
Lisa Reifsteck and Doc Richardson said they will collect as many monetary donations as we can (minimum $10 donation requested) to Feed The Force.
“We are partnering with Doc's Smokehouse in Edwardsville and we will simply run a tab at Doc's Smokehouse and any law enforcement officer in Madison County can go there and eat for free,” she said. “Wouldn't it be unbelievable if our officers could eat there for free for a year?”
The too both said they want this to be a huge fund-raising opportunity and hope to cover the entire county of officers with meals.
“We welcome other families to join us and make this a summer project for your kids and families,” the two said. “Enlist your churches, scout troops, sports teams, civic organizations. Help us be creative to support our police forces.”
The simplest way to donate to Sammi's cause is through gofundme.com/FeedTheForce. Lisa and Doc said Sammi will personally collect donations with her mother if anyone wants to provide some funds. Contact them at (618) 304-3740. Doc also has a jar available for people to make contributions at his counter. Anyone who wishes to contact Doc's can call (618) 656-6060.
