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Bellevue Heights UMC helps to feed 50 children from Delaware Academy through Blessings in a Backpack

October 11, 2016 / By Shannon Hodson / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

When Jeanie Brown, member of Bellevue Heights United Methodist Church in Syracuse, learned of Blessings in a Backpack from her dear friend Karen Nicholas who was involved in the program with her church, Resurrection Episcopal Church in Oswego, NY, Jeanie’s heart was touched. She knew she had to get involved. Blessings in a Backpack is a national program that mobilizes communities, individuals, and resources to provide food on the weekends for elementary school children across America who might otherwise go hungry. The food is prepared by local community organizations or churches and sent to selected elementary school children on Fridays for them to bring home for the weekend.

When the 2015 Census statistics came out, Jeanie realized how imperative it was to help the poor In Syracuse. The Census revealed that one in two children in Syracuse lives in poverty in a city that now ranks as the 29th poorest in America.  She knew that Delaware Academy School in Syracuse was very poor and that there were probably several children there who were going hungry. Seventy percent of the children in the predominantly Hispanic and African American school receive free or reduced price lunches. Jeanie made several phone calls to Delaware Academy to speak with them about Blessings in a Backpack, and not one call was returned.

In May of 2016, Jeanie decided to move beyond a phone call and took it upon herself to visit the school and find someone who would hear her out on the Blessings in a Backpack program. The program costs $100 a year per child. Jeanie was determined that she would find a way to support 50 kids, which would cost $5,000 a year and the minimum commitment is three years, totaling $15,000 that would need to be raised for the program.

Her approach this time worked! She was able to speak to Myra Beguy, the social worker at Delaware Academy, who was hesitant to try the program. Myra said aloud, “There are over 500 kids at this school who would need this support; how could I possibly select only 50 to serve?” But, Myra, with the support of Principal Eliezer Hernandez, decided to give the program a shot, with the hope that it would possibly grow to support more kids.

As soon as Jeanie received word that Delaware Academy would commit to having her implement the Blessings in a Backpack program at the school, supporting 50 children, she knew where to turn to help raise funds, her church, Bellevue UMC. In early July, she approached Rev. Andy Anderson, who literally was just appointed as pastor of the church. Jeanie expressed a little bit of nervousness about approaching him with the proposal; she said “It was Rev. Anderson’s first year at the church. I didn’t want to rock the boat, but he was so positive and said with a smile, ‘I think it’s doable.’”

When Rev. Anderson informed the congregation about the Blessings in a Backpack program, the response was very encouraging. “I told them that they would be helping children in a school less than a mile away from the church. So far, the contributions from members have been wonderful, both financially and in terms of organizing with the committee that formed to pack the meals every Thursday and deliver them to the school every Friday.”

All of the food for Blessing in a Backpack has to be non-perishable. Jeanie described what the usual contents in a child’s bag consist of: “usually two cans of ravioli or something similar, two packets of oatmeal, Capri Sun, and a granola bar. We’re limited to spend about $2.10 per kid. We have been doing most of our shopping at Wal-Mart and going over our budget, but soon, Cisco will be supporting us, which will reduce our costs.”

Jeanie said, “We actually pack the food in plastic bags because the school administration had a concern that the backpacks would not be returned. On another note, we also helped supply that school with backpacks and school supplies before the school year started.”

Myra explained that the children have been so appreciative of the program. She had to hand-select the 50 children to participate in the program. During the first week, she included a letter in the bag to the parents or guardians explaining what the program was and to call her and let her know if they did not want to participate. No parent called to express disinterest in the program. Several called to say how happy they were. Maya said, “The kids are so appreciative. I had one little girl who was in kindergarten ask with such delight, as she jumped up and down, ‘ You mean, we’re going to get food every Friday?’ ”

Myra only has two primary concerns: one is that some of the children have younger siblings at home, who do not get food and the second one is that there are still over 450 children in the school that need to be fed. But, Myra has hope that the program will grow. She had a hard time selecting the children to participate. She made sure that if a child had a sibling(s) in the school that they would all be chosen to participate in the program.

Myra explained how they deliver the food to the children in a fashion that the other children will not see it and inquire; she said “I gave teachers a list of children in their class who are part of the program and every Friday at the end of the school day, they send the children to me to get their bag and then the children immediately leave school for the day so they are not bringing food back to the classroom.”

One month into the school year and Bellevue United Methodist Church’s support to Delaware Academy, through Blessings in a Backpack is already having a positive impact. Myra said with excitement, “I am so happy to see this idea work and see how Bellevue followed through. It is such a blessing!”

To learn more about Blessings in a Backpack, visit blessingsinabackpack.org. To learn more about Bellevue UMC’s commitment to Delaware Academy, contact Jeanie Brown at 315-478-6188.