Volunteer Spotlight: Robbin Ossi, St. Johns County, FL.

Volunteer Spotlight: Robbin Ossi, St. Johns County, FL.

Meet Robbin Ossi, program coordinator of the Blessings in a Backpack program in St. Johns County, FL. We asked Robbin . . .

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Nease High School Volunteers

How long have you been a Program Coordinator for Blessings in a Backpack?
I’ve served as a Program Coordinator for 7 years. My journey with Blessings in a Backpack began in 2010 when I became aware of students going hungry on the weekends at the Title 1 schools in St. Augustine. I wanted to help so I brought together a small group of friends to feed 76 children at two Title 1 schools, Webster and Crookshank. Within one year, we not only increased the number of children served at those two schools, we added three more schools in St. Johns County. Because of our grassroots efforts, Blessings in a Backpack began to grow in numbers and community support.

How many volunteers support your program?
Currently, 60-80 volunteers support nine programs in St. Johns County.

How many children do you serve?
We serve 530+ children in 9 St. Johns County schools (St. Augustine, St. Johns, Ponte Vedra and Ponte Vedra Beach)

What makes your program unique?
Our packing groups are predominantly middle and high school students.

My volunteer team and I were able to excite a group of mothers and their high school students to support BIB programs at the Title 1 schools. One of the high school students shared, “I had heard about Blessings, but didn’t really know what it was about. I was surprised to learn that students in my high school packed food for kids in my old school! I knew right away that I had to be part of this project.”

What part of your program are you most proud of?
Here is a quote from one of the student volunteers who delivers the bags to the elementary school: “Our team meets every Thursday. My classmates transport the food to school and our Blessings group of about ten students makes short work of packing over 200 bags. I deliver the bags the next day. Every now and then, a kid who receives a Blessings bag will walk past as I wheel the food in. The excitement on their faces really puts things into perspective. This is the joy more fortunate kids express when they get a new toy. “

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SOUPer Bowl 2017

One packing group at Nease High School has created a fundraiser called “SOUPer Bowl” where they recently raised $35,000 to add more children to our St. Johns County program. This has become the main fundraising event for our St. Johns County schools! With these proceeds, we are able to expand existing programs and hope to open a new program this coming school year.

What are some of the challenges you experience as a Program Coordinator?
I hate fundraising. It’s hard to do without folks who know what they’re doing and have corporate contacts. To assist in this effort, I joined the First Coast Chapter board of directors to leverage my contacts and create greater awareness for the St. Johns County programs. We participate in all chapter fundraising and community events.

What advice would you give to new Program Coordinators?
I suggest finding someone who is adept at fundraising — you’ll need them. Grassroots fundraising is a great to start off a program, but to sustain it, you need to have larger corporate/foundation donations. We also found that handwritten thank you notes and semi-annual “progress reports” were well received by our donors.

Do you have a best practice/tip you would like to share?
Shop for and plan your weekly menus to get the most food for your money. Pre-packaged meals are fine, especially if you don’t have a packing group to rely upon. We are fortunate to have savvy shoppers who are able to make the most with our budget. Consequently, our backpacks contain a greater quantity and in some instances, better quality food. We can also tailor some menu items to the tastes of the students we serve.

Tell us one fun fact you would like to share.
Our recipients are really fond of applesauce!