In the small Florida town Jessica Roberts is from, 50% of the students are on free or reduced lunch. When she saw BackPack Beginnings at a UNCG volunteer fair and read the facts on children going without food, she was reminded of where she came from. Learning about the issues facing children in Greensboro who are going hungry pushed her to choose BPB as a way to give back to her new community.
As a student getting her Master’s Degree in Conflict and Peace Studies, Jessica has enjoyed devoting a few hours each week delivering food to schools in High Point. She loves the impact BPB has on the community. “It doesn’t take a lot of time to do so much. Two hours a week brings food to 100 kids.”
During semesters when Jessica has not been able to deliver bags, she has taken other opportunities to volunteer. During the holidays, she worked at the gift wrap table in Barnes & Noble and sold tickets at Belk for BPB. But the impact BPB has on children really hit home at a Girl Scout volunteer fair. While she was manning the BPB table, a family came up to get information on volunteering and explained that their daughter was currently receiving a weekly bag from BPB. After a “series of hard times” including job loss and medical issues, they went from being volunteers to recipients.
Jessica is amazed by how much BPB has accomplished since she started volunteering in the organization’s early days. It makes her happy to have been able to be a part of an organization working so hard to meet the demands of hungry children. She knows that the work she did is incredibly important because of the developmental effect going hungry has on a child.
Written on 9/23/2013 by Blogger Thea DeLoreto
