Wilderness at the Smokies presents $20,000 check to Sevier County Food Ministries

Wilderness at the Smokies presents a $20,000 check to Sevier County Food Ministries raised through annual Holiday Funds for Food Drive. Pictured left to right: Russell Archuletta, General manager, Wilderness at the Smokies; Nikki Harrell, Director of Sales, Wilderness at the Smokies; Jim Davis, Director, Sevier County Food Ministries; Dorothy Johnson, Steering Committee Chairwoman, Sevier County Food Ministries. Image courtesy of Wilderness at the Smokies.

SEVIERVILLE, TN - Wilderness at the Smokies presented a $20,000 check this week to Sevier County Food Ministries. The check represented the total funds raised through Wilderness at the Smokies’ second annual Holiday Funds for Food Drive.

On 12 select dates in October and November, for $10 per person, Wilderness at the Smokies welcomed the greater Sevierville community to splash the day away inside the normally guest-exclusive Wild WaterDome, Tennessee’s largest indoor waterpark. Proceeds totaled $20,000 ($18,000 in day pass sales with an additional $2,000 contribution from Wilderness at the Smokies) and will directly benefit Sevier County Food Ministries’ programs to feed the hungry.

Last year the program offered day passes in exchange for donated canned and dry food, resulting in 42,000 pounds (21 tons) of donated food goods and serving more than 1,700 families with a weekly bag of groceries during the holiday season. This year the program changed to a monetary waterpark entrance fee to alleviate food storage challenges.

“Wilderness at the Smokies’ Funds for Food Drive surpassed our expectations for a second year in a row. We are thrilled that Wilderness at the Smokies has held another fantastic drive for us, and it couldn't come at a better time,” said Jim Davis, director of Sevier County Food Ministries. "Last year the Wilderness staff and our community helped us with over 18 tons of canned goods, which was outstanding. This year's monetary donation is even more super, as we can purchase canned goods at Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee at a price much lower than retail. This check also helps us cover the cost of our Thanksgiving and Christmas distributions. We aided over 2,400 families for Thanksgiving and expect to help more than that for Christmas. May God continue to bless Wilderness at the Smokies and our community."

“The Holiday Funds for Food Drive is a win-win opportunity for Sevier County,” said Russell Archuleta, general manager of Wilderness at the Smokies. “Special thanks to Food City, the Sevier County School System, the Sevierville Chamber, the Pigeon Forge Chamber for their contribution in helping to promote the Holiday Funds for Food Drive, and especially to those families who participated and enjoyed a day of fun inside the waterpark.”

Sevier County Food Ministries is a voluntary interfaith ministry founded in in 1992 in downtown Sevierville to help assure that no on in Sevier County goes hungry. Food and monetary donations are used to purchase food and contributed by caring individuals, churches, businesses, clubs, groups and man other person and organizations. Their missing is simply to feed the hungry.

Wilderness at the Smokies, Tennessee’s Largest Waterpark Resort & Family Adventure Center, is situated in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, the #1 most visited national park, in Sevierville, Tenn. Featuring 713 rooms, suites and villas, Wilderness at the Smokies offers guests an 84-degree, year-round indoor waterpark, two seasonal outdoor waterparks, an indoor family adventure center, dining, shopping, a 36-hole championship golf course, and more than 200,000 square feet of meeting and convention space. Owned and operated by Stand Rock Hospitality, a Wisconsin Dells, Wis.-based hotel and hospitality development and management company, Wilderness at the Smokies has created hundreds of jobs in the greater Sevierville community, attracting year-round tourism, and having a major impact on sales tax and room tax generated for the City of Sevierville since opening it’s doors in 2008. F1.877.325. WILD (9453) or visit www.WildernessattheSmokies.com.

Published November 25, 2016