Spreading Holiday Cheer: Blessings in a Backpack Delivers Hope to Fort Wayne Students
Food bags and stockings were assembled for students in Fort Wayne, Indiana, who may not have a reliable source of food at home. Blessings in a Backpack partnered with Indiana Michigan Power to stuff some stockings and spread some Christmas cheer in the process. Volunteers spent the afternoon assembling hundreds of stockings for Fort Wayne Community Schools students, that included socks, snacks, and handwritten cards of encouragement.
Jama Ross, with our Fort Wayne program, breaks down how schools are selected to be a part of a program like this.
“We just start at the most food insecure statistically and then we work our way down and then so like next in line was Bloomingdale. We have several others on the list and our goal is to get every single school in Fort Wayne added to that list,” Ross said.
Assembled stocking bags totaled 3,500 on Monday for students in need ahead of the holidays.
This year Bloomingdale became their eighth school to join the program.
This new addition comes after Indiana Michigan Power donated $25,000 to Blessings in a Backpack.
The principal of the school, Jennifer Evans says that programs like this are important to student success.
“It’s really hard to focus at school. It’s really hard to learn how to read when you’re worried about food. These types of programs are what make it so our students can stay in that really great executive state where they’re there and ready to learn and they feel very loved and safe. It goes well beyond a bag of food,” said Evans.
Ross says Blessings in a Backpack expands its reach to schools through donations.
“If we have a generous donor out there in the community right now that says, ‘hey, I have this elementary school by my house, I would love to see them a blessing school.’ If they make a donation… or if they want to raise the funds to add their school, that’s all it takes. And we are feeding every kid in that school every single Friday,” Ross said.
Ross says 70% of kids in FWCS experience food insecurity and along with these stockings, food bags will be sent to families in need.