John HarrisonAngel Fund
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John’s story

A street corner became a starting point.

John did not wait for a perfect plan. He saw a need, made a sign, and gave his neighbors a way to help.

“So all kids can eat” was not a campaign line. It was the reason John kept returning to the corner.

John Harrison smiling while wearing his Faith Riders vest and hat
John Harrison in the black-and-yellow Faith Riders colors.
John Harrison holding his original handmade Sparta School Lunch Program Angel Fund sign
John with the original sign: “So all kids can eat” and Matthew 25:35.

The person behind the promise

John made the mission visible.

His handmade sign named the need in the clearest terms possible. These family-supplied photographs preserve both the message and the man who carried it into the community.

The story so far

A simple action that outlived its first goal.

The Sparta Area School District had maintained a lunch assistance fund since 2009. Ten years later, John Harrison decided to help it directly.

In spring 2019, he began collecting near Walgreens at Wisconsin Street and Black River Street. Saturday by Saturday, neighbors stopped to give. John’s personal goal was $10,000.

He had raised about $3,000 before he died unexpectedly in June 2019. His family, friends, and neighbors carried the collection forward. By August, community giving had reached $10,305.

The school district recognized the family and renamed the fund in John’s memory. The collections continued—because the need, and John’s reason for beginning, continued too.

Memorial plaque for The John Harrison Memorial Angel Lunch Fund, established August 27, 2019
The memorial plaque supplied by John’s family.

August 27, 2019

The fund took John’s name.

The plaque records The John Harrison Memorial Angel Lunch Fund as established in his memory and in honor of the time and heart he gave to children of the Sparta Area School District.

Milestones

From one corner to an enduring community effort.

  1. A local fund begins

    The Sparta Area School District established a lunch assistance fund for children whose families were facing serious financial hardship.

  2. John takes to the corner

    John Harrison began collecting donations near Walgreens at Wisconsin Street and Black River Street in Sparta, asking neighbors to help children eat at school.

  3. The community carries it forward

    John had raised about $3,000 toward his personal $10,000 goal before his unexpected death. His family and community continued the work.

  4. John’s goal is surpassed

    Community giving had reached $10,305. A family-supplied memorial plaque records The John Harrison Memorial Angel Lunch Fund as established on August 27, 2019.

  5. The work continues

    Family, neighbors, businesses, and local organizations continue collecting, sharing, and giving so more children can eat.

Carry it forward

The next chapter belongs to everyone willing to help.

Find your way to helpMeet the community behind it