Sounds of the Season raises $10K for The Food Bank of Waterloo Region

This year's CBC K-W Sounds of the Season campaign raised doubled the amount raised in 2016, thanks in part to one special little helper — Anna Puopolo.

A total of $10,328.85 was raised over the month of December and 258 lbs of food. That provides more than 33,000 meals for people in need, the food bank said.

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That's up from $5,030 raised in 2016. That year, 1,030 lbs of food was raised; enough for 15,895 meals.

Wendi Campbell, the executive director of The Food Bank of Waterloo Region, said the campaign grows each year. That means it helps even more people and gets the word out about what they do.

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"It's amazing the number of people you talk to in the community that talk to us about Sounds of the Season and what they've heard about it and the stories that we're about to tell through the campaign to talk about the need in the community and to raise the awareness," Campbell said.

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"It's not just about hearing about us on the radio — it's about the stories and the impact that those donations and those gifts are having in the community."

Cambridge girl integral to campaign

This year, CBC K-W also had help from Anna Puopolo. Puopolo, from Cambridge, is known across Waterloo region and online for the Anna Show, a toy review channel on YouTube. 

"We have to thank our friend Anna," Campbell said.

"The people who Anna reached out to through her campaign, the people that we talked to at TheMuseum the day we kicked off our event, who had learned about the food bank for the first time because of Anna's work in the community, that definitely made the difference."

• 6-year-old's birthday Kickstarter raises $2,000 for Syrian children

Puopolo has dabbled in philanthropy before, raising $2,000 for Syrian children on Kickstart in lieu of birthday presents when she turned six last January.

And in case anyone is wondering: Yes, Anna got a kitten for Christmas.