HERSHEY, Pa., Sept. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The less than 8,000
folks that make up Crookston,
Minn. were devasted when 2020 brought the cancellation of
their beloved annual "Ox Cart Days" festival. Luckily, this year, a
group of high school students initiated a project that renewed hope
and reconnected the community in a meaningful way. Alongside their
woodshop teacher, Travis Oliver,
this group of teens built S'mores fire tables and pits to spark a
sweet community gathering to make S'mores and, more
importantly, memories at this year's end of the summer
celebration. And with a little help
from Hershey – in the way of a full pallet of
chocolate – the first-ever community S'mores event was
born.
"The festival leaders were inspired by a Hershey's S'mores commercial, which
depicted a neighborhood coming together over a set of fire tables
to make S'mores," said Travis Oliver,
Crookston High School Industrial Education Teacher.
"We thought, what an amazing project for my shop kids to make for
the community and what a great way to come back together in a sweet
and safe way in 2021."
This week-long end of the summer celebration has been a
Crookston tradition for more than
30 years, so its cancellation in 2020 took a major toll on the
community. Thankfully, with the help of the local fire department,
the festival coordinators, local sponsors, and businesses, on
Monday, August 16, the community
gathered once again to kick-off the festival. The event featured
three fire tables and fire pits from the students and 40,000
Hershey's milk chocolate
bars.
"We were blown away when we got word of the project these kids
built, and we were really inspired by this entire town - from the
teacher, the local festival organizers and even the firemen who
helped," said Alyssa Smith,
Hershey's Brand Manager.
"We wanted to support their hard work and passion, so we sent them
all they needed to make the S'mores table the showcase of the Ox
Cart Festival."
About The Hershey Company
The Hershey Company is
headquartered in Hershey, Pa., and is an industry-leading
snacks company known for bringing goodness to the world through its
iconic brands, remarkable people and enduring commitment to help
children succeed. Hershey has approximately 17,000
employees around the world who work every day to deliver delicious,
quality products. The company has more than 90 brands around the
world that drive more than $8.1 billion in annual
revenues, including such iconic brand names as Hershey's, Reese's, Kit
Kat®, Jolly Rancher, Ice Breakers,
SkinnyPop, and Pirate's Booty.
For more than 125 years, Hershey has been committed to
operating fairly, ethically and
sustainably. Hershey founder, Milton Hershey,
created the Milton Hershey School in 1909 and since then the
company has focused on helping children succeed.
To learn more visit www.thehersheycompany.com
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SOURCE The Hershey Company