About
There are currently 1,500 school-age children in our community on the free / reduced lunch program and therefore at risk of food insecurity. This is a real issue, right here, right now in our community. Teachers are noticing children coming to school on Monday mornings hungry, lethargic and definitely not ready to learn due to not having their nutritional needs met when they did not have access to meals they receive at school.
But we, as a Community, are doing something about this!
Blessings in a Backpack is a national organization that is currently in 42 states including Michigan. Blessings in a Backpack-Lake Orion is a committee of parents, local business owners, community members and educators operating in partnership with the national Blessings in a Backpack organization, and Meijer to provide at risk students with a backpack containing six nutritious meals to feed them over the weekend.
Back in late 2012, when Blessings in a Backpack - Lake Orion first formed, the first objective was to raise $24,000 i.e. the cost to give the program sustainability in the initial two schools - Blanche Sims Elementary and Pine Tree Elementary. This money was raised through a concerted fundraising effort running from the beginning of 2013. On Wednesday April 10th 2013 we packed our first backpacks and these were delivered to go home with students on Friday, April 12th! Since then we have raised sufficient funds to add all Lake Orion elementary schools plus the three middle schools!
Although we were very excited to have got all of our elementary schools plus the three middle schools up and running within our first two years this is a program which needs to be grown and sustained. Through the coming months and years we need to keep raising funds to finance the program year on year. We currently pack around 300 bags of food each week!
You can help make a difference for the children in our Lake Orion Community
We reach out to all members of the Orion Community - parents, local businesses, community members. You can help in so many ways - volunteering your time (a lot of bags of food need to be packed!), fundraising, donating resources, monetary donations to name but a few.
$100 will provide a backpack and food to one child each weekend for an entire school year!
But we, as a Community, are doing something about this!
Blessings in a Backpack is a national organization that is currently in 42 states including Michigan. Blessings in a Backpack-Lake Orion is a committee of parents, local business owners, community members and educators operating in partnership with the national Blessings in a Backpack organization, and Meijer to provide at risk students with a backpack containing six nutritious meals to feed them over the weekend.
Back in late 2012, when Blessings in a Backpack - Lake Orion first formed, the first objective was to raise $24,000 i.e. the cost to give the program sustainability in the initial two schools - Blanche Sims Elementary and Pine Tree Elementary. This money was raised through a concerted fundraising effort running from the beginning of 2013. On Wednesday April 10th 2013 we packed our first backpacks and these were delivered to go home with students on Friday, April 12th! Since then we have raised sufficient funds to add all Lake Orion elementary schools plus the three middle schools!
Although we were very excited to have got all of our elementary schools plus the three middle schools up and running within our first two years this is a program which needs to be grown and sustained. Through the coming months and years we need to keep raising funds to finance the program year on year. We currently pack around 300 bags of food each week!
You can help make a difference for the children in our Lake Orion Community
We reach out to all members of the Orion Community - parents, local businesses, community members. You can help in so many ways - volunteering your time (a lot of bags of food need to be packed!), fundraising, donating resources, monetary donations to name but a few.
$100 will provide a backpack and food to one child each weekend for an entire school year!
