Centennial Hills girl helps raise money for Three Square
Jordyn Lenae of Centennial Hills began taking school lunches to one of her classmates a year ago after noticing he had no money for food.
“School food costs extra, and everyone can’t afford it,” said Jordyn, 11, a Bilbray Elementary School student. “So each day I’d pack an extra lunch for him and a few snacks to go along with it.”
It was when Jordyn began her track of helping her peers. She’s partnering with Three Square for the second time to raise money to feed 6,000 kids this summer. She did the same last winter, she said. She has raised about $450 of her $2,000 goal in one month.
“I’m doing it again because I believe no kid should go hungry,” Jordyn said. “My goal is to try to help end child hunger. I don’t know if I can end it, but I know that I can try to. I do want to push it more but I need help.”
Proceeds from a GoFundMe page will go toward Three Square’s Meet Up & Eat Up program, according to Jeanice, Jordyn’s mother. The program provides free meals to those 18 and younger at sites across the city and also provides a mobile service with stops at apartment complexes.
“Jordyn wanted to find a way to help without embarrassing kids,” Jeanice said. “So we just went online and we came across Three Square and decided that’s what she wanted to do. This way kids are still being served, but no one gets picked on.”
“I don’t want anyone to be so embarrassed that they can’t eat,” Jordyn added. “Kids make fun of people for the weirdest things, so we tried to find a way to help people get food without being seen by other kids who might make fun of them.”
Jordyn was recently awarded the Give Back award from America First Credit Union. She received $500, which she plans to invest in her volunteer efforts, she said.
“I’m going to have my first official volunteer day in a couple of weeks,” Jordyn said. “This is really important to me. For every dollar they receive, Three Square makes three meals. Kids are away from school for break and a lot of them depend on school food. Summertime is a long time to go without a real meal, and I just feel like kids shouldn’t have to wait three months to get a real meal.”
Contact Mia Sims at msims@