Today I am stepping a bit out of my creative zone to share with you something else that is close to my heart. A charity you may or may not be familiar with, Blessings in a Backpack.
A few facts that I found shocking...
-3 out of 5 U.S. Public School children qualify for the free or reduced lunch program.
-60% of American children depend on the government to feed them Monday through Friday. That equates to more than 20 million kids.
The end result of statistics like this is millions and millions of children go hungry on weekends. As the video above states, many of them know when the final bell rings on Friday afternoon, they will not eat again until Monday morning.
Blessings in a Backpack provides elementary school children who are on the federal Free and Reduced Price Meal Program with a backpack of food to take home for 38 weekends during the school year. Backpack food includes easy-to-prepare, ready-to-eat foods, like granola bars, juice boxes, mac and cheese, and oatmeal.
- A donation of a mere $80 will feed one hungry child in the U.S. every weekend for an entire school year. 100% of your donation goes directly to feeding the children. You can donate directly HERE.
- You can adopt a school and start a program in your area if one doesn't already exist. You can read all the details about doing so HERE.
- Become a volunteer to help fill backpacks on Fridays for these hungry children in need by finding a local school that participates in this program HERE.
- Coordinate a fundraiser at your church, with your scouts or other civic organization to contribute to the cause or possibly partner with a local school as a permanent sponsor.
I hope that this cause possibly touches your heart as much as it has mine. Sometimes we forget all to easily how much need there is right here within our own country. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to share this with you today.
