Spotlight: Westen Blevins
Rising 7th grader Westen Blevins has spent most of his summers collecting cereal boxes, and this summer was no different, as he once again participated in the THV11 Summer Cereal Drive.
For those who may not be familiar with the THV11 Summer Cereal Drive, it was founded by Chief Meteorologist Tom Brannon and the THV11 team in 2000. The program benefits the Arkansas Foodbank and provides non-perishable breakfast items for children in central Arkansas who would otherwise go without the most important meal of the day. While many of us look forward to summer, 1 in 5 children in our state face increased levels of food insecurity as schools close during summer break. This cereal drive is one of Arkansas’ largest hunger relief initiatives.
Each year during the month of June, various teams compete to provide the most cereal to our neighbors facing hardship. After lots of hard work, Westen came in 1st Place in this year’s drive, collecting 4,670 boxes of cereal to benefit the Arkansas Foodbank!
Westen began participating in the cereal drive when he was around 4 years old with the encouragement of his mom to do something to serve others. At that young age, he happened to show up to a THV live broadcast at summer cereal drive event in North Little Rock. He dropped off some cereal boxes, had some fun with Craig O’Neill on the air, and knew this was exactly what he wanted to do to serve his community!
Over the past 8 years, Westen has stuck with the cereal drive and has continued to collect cereal boxes every summer. Over the years, his CAC friends and his fellow church members at Levy Church of Christ have helped Westen on his mission by donating to his team. Back in 2020, he was selected as THV’s Arkansan of the Day for his work with the drive. Each year, Westen’s box total has steadily grown, with this year being his largest amount yet!
Westen says that he has no plans to stop participating in the Summer Cereal Drive anytime soon and wants to keep going until he graduates, if not longer.
