Bismarck’s 2014 Open Your Heart Campaign a Striking Success

Bob Wefald, chairman of the Bismarck American Legion's Open Your Heart campaign for eleven years, has declared the 2014 fundraiser and food drive an undisputed success.

The campaign, founded in 1929, only runs from Thanksgiving to Christmas each year, and its success relies more on word-of-mouth, school involvement and the general generosity of Bismarkians than on solicitation. Wefald explains:

I don’t ask for donations. They just come. We don’t pester them for money all year. The charity is only done in December. People just show up and the job gets done.

The Bismarck Tribune reports that that, among other reasons, is why Wefald says his involvement is "the most satisfying and gratifying charity... because people are so willing to give and volunteer."

This year, the event raised an impressive $80,000 and delivered 470 food totes to 315 families in need.

More than 100 volunteers made the whole thing possible by accepting, stacking, sorting labeling, assigning and delivering donations