Teacher Seeking Help With Contest to Benefit Needy Students

This is one case where “vote early, vote often” isn’t a sarcastic comment on crooked election practices.

In the case of Jeff Peterson’s campaign, voting early and often could help his team cross the finish line before the competition.If his team gets there early enough, his cause could win $25,000 in assistance.

Peterson, a physical education teacher at Creekside Elementary School in Plainfield, is the founder of Creekside Cares, a nonprofit organization that provides nutritious foods to students in Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 who don’t have ready access to three square meals a day. While it's part of the Plainfield school district, Creekside serves many students from the Romeoville area.

Creekside Cares gives out backpacks full of nonperishable foods before each weekend during the school year so needy kids can eat well all weekend. The organization also distributes food during the summer, Peterson said.

While the organization gets help from the community, several area churches and the Northern Illinois Food Bank on a regular basis, Peterson is hoping that Creekside Cares will also win a contest sponsored by Pepsi called the Pepsi Refresh Project.

Through Aug. 31, supporters of his program can cast votes for Creekside Cares by going to the contest website and entering codes found on Pepsi products. The organizations with the most votes get the monetary prizes. The competitive field is large,with organizations from all over the country aiming to win.

Peterson said the 15 top vote-getters will receive prizes. Right now, Creekside Cares is in 30th place.

And the clock is ticking — the last day to vote is Aug. 31. So, Peterson is encouraging the community to pitch in and cast their votes so Creekside Cares can win $25,000, funds that will all go toward keeping those weekend backpacks filled.

Peterson said he started Creekside Cares in January 2010 when he noticed that the assistance provided by the school district didn’t go far enough to meet all the needs in the community.

“With the tough economic downturn, I was thinking maybe there was a bigger need there,” he said.

He started the program off with 10 students. Now there are 98 children participating in it in six schools, including three elementary school, two middle schools and Plainfield North High School.

To help Creekside Cares win, voters can go to www.pepsirefresh.com, register and search for "Creekside Cares." Peterson said some products bear something called “power codes,” codes that cast up to 100 votes at a time.

Peterson said voters can enter the codes online themselves or they can gather up product codes and drop them off at Creekside Elementary School where he and his volunteer helpers will do it.

Victory is within reach, he said.

“I really think that we’re close enough,” he said. “We’re just trying to help as many students and families as we can during this tough time. Everybody’s struggling, to some extent. If we can offer any assistance, that’s really the mission of Creekside Cares.”

Aug. 27 garage sale

As the Pepsi Refresh contest nears its conclusion, Creekside Cares is taking another route to fundraising. A garage sale set for 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27 will benefit the organization. The sale will be in the parking lot at Creekside Elementary, 13909 S. Budler Road. The sale is being presented in conjunction with the Lakewood Falls subdivision, Peterson said.