Correction: One of the financial institutions listed where people can donate to the campaign was incorrect. It has been corrected below.

DOWAGIAC — As demonstrated by the wild fluctuating in weather the past several weeks, neither rain nor snow — nor some bizarre combination of the two — is enough to deter fundraisers with Dowagiac’s largest holiday charity from their duties.

With only a few days before the end of the campaign on Friday, organizers with C. Wimberley Automotive’s Feed the Hungry food drive are barreling toward the finish line. So far, the community has donated $17,000 to the cause, just a few grand shy of the campaign’s $20,000 goal, said Jim Allen, coordinator of the annual program.

With only a few days left on the clock, Allen said he and other volunteers will be making one last push to achieve — or exceed — that amount.

“We still need the community’s help,” Allen said. “We are so close to our goal.”

Volunteers with the program have been collecting donations for the food drive since late November. In addition to asking for dollars from businesses, good Samaritans from throughout Cass County have stood vigil outside the Family Fare in Dowagiac and the Harding’s stores in Dowagiac and Cassopolis, collecting dollars from customers entering and exiting the grocery market.

Organizers have also used three vehicles, lent to the program by C. Wimberley, to help spread word about Feed the Hungry throughout the Dowagiac area. The automobiles, which sport the names and logos of large donors to this year’s program, have been stationed outside businesses over the past several weeks to let people know about the campaign, Allen said.

Not only have businesses once again stepped up to make major contributions, but there has been a surge in private citizens writing large checks to the program this year, often in memory of a loved one, Allen said.

The money collected through Feed the Hungry will be donated to Dowagiac’s ACTION Ministries, which will use the funds to purchase food items from the Feeding America warehouse in Benton Harbor for pennies on the dollar. These goods will be transported via a semitrailer to the local Ford dealership on Friday, where volunteers will unload and deliver the items to five food pantries in Dowagiac and Cassopolis, which will help keep their shelves stocked up in time for Christmas.

ACTION will use the remaining funds to pay for mobile food pantries from Feeding America, which will stop at various sites throughout Cass County over the next year. Last year’s Feed the Hungry campaign was able to pay for 19 truck visits.

On Thursday, organizers will scour the central business district in search of last-minute contributions to the campaign, Allen said.

“We will light up downtown like a Christmas tree,” Allen said. “We will be asking everyone we can for money.”

With $1 being able to purchase around $6 worth of food through ACTION’s agreement with Feeding America, even a single greenback will make a big difference in the lives of local families, Allen said.

People wanting to make a contribution to the campaign may call Allen at (269) 779-1691. They may also leave a donation at the Dowagiac 1st Source Bank or Honor Credit Union branch offices, or at the C. Wimberley Ford dealership.