Volunteer Spotlight: Heidi Wagman, Chicago, IL

Volunteer Spotlight: Heidi Wagman, Chicago, IL

Meet Heidi Wagman, Program Coordinator, supporting the Blessings in a Backpack program at Jenner Academy of the Arts in Chicago. We asked Heidi . . .

WagmanHow long have you been a program coordinator for Blessings in a Backpack?
I have served as one of the program coordinators at Jenner Academy for nine years. Before we started the Blessings program at Jenner, my temple Chicago Sinai Congregation was already supporting the school by providing reading tutors and funding some curricular initiatives. When we learned about the Blessings program, we felt it would be a perfect complement to the work that we were already doing. Nearly every child in the school was low income and could benefit from food over the weekend. Chicago Sinai reached out to our temple community to get their support and secure the funding for our first year. With the generosity and volunteer support of our members, we have been able to keep the program going for nearly a decade now.

How many volunteers support your program?
Over the course of nine years, we have had hundreds of volunteers help us pack. In any given year, we have about ten volunteers who show up on a regular basis and several more who come occasionally.

How many children do you serve?
We serve 180 children at Jenner Academy of the Arts in Chicago.

What makes your program unique?
Because our program is funded and run by Chicago Sinai, it is unique in several ways.

First, feeding students continues to be only a part of our overall commitment to supporting this community. We also provide funding and volunteer support for several other initiatives and programs. For example, in addition to helping pack food each week, many volunteers also serve as classroom aides, chaperone field trips, speak at Career Day, and mentor students.

Second, we are able to tap into many different cohorts within our temple to support our program. For example, last Thanksgiving, our temple’s preschool did a Blessings holiday food drive and packed bags for our program (complete with a hand-made holiday gift made by the preschool students). We have also been able to do some large scale, multi-week packing sessions as part of temple-wide programming.

What part of your program are you most proud of?
I am most proud that we have been able to fund and provide volunteer support for this program for so long. We have only been able to do this because our temple as an institution deeply values the Blessings program and because we have an incredible group of individuals who provide financial support each year and volunteers who show up every week to help us pack.

Jenner shoppingWhat are some of the challenges you experience as a program coordinator?
Some of our biggest challenges have been the physical aspects of this program; the shopping, loading, transporting and unloading the food (especially those cans!) can be difficult.

Another challenging aspect has been finding foods that are nutritious, affordable, varied and liked by the students. We like to be able to include fresh fruit in each bag, which means that we need to shop each week and be sure that fruit is taken out of any bags that are not given out.

What advice would you give to new program coordinators?
I think it is really important to establish a strong, collaborative relationship with the school administration. We have only been able to keep our program over the years because we are valued and supported. The school provides us with a room to store our food and do our packing; they distribute the bags to the students on Fridays; they provide feedback about what foods the kids really like and which foods are not making it home.

I also think it’s important to know your school community and to be able to tailor your program to serve their needs best. For example, at our school, we are mindful of keeping our bags lightweight because many of the students are traveling long distances on public transportation. We also pack slightly different bags for our older students based on what we know they most enjoy.

Do you have a best practice/tip you would like to share?
I recommend packing on the same day/time each week. Some years, we have tried alternating our packing times to allow more people to participate, which seemed like a good idea. But, it was hard for volunteers to keep track of the schedule. In the end, we have found that the consistency of a set packing day/time has worked best for our volunteers and the school.

Tell us one fun fact you would like to share.
At one packing session a few years ago, we had volunteers that ranged in age from 2 to 90 years old!