Samantha Lee always knew she wanted to work with children and their families who were at risk and struggling. She wanted to be a part of making a positive change in their lives.
Samantha, an eleven year veteran as a school social worker, splits her time during the week between Jones Elementary and Southern Elementary where her days are busy with crisis management, academic assessments, student and parent conferences, and working with children who are struggling academically, socially or behaviorally. When a child is identified by personnel as being food insecure, she will sign them up for the Food BackPack Program.
“All of our staff knows to look out for signs of hunger and to report it. If a child is unable to concentrate, hoarding food, or trying to sneak extra food out of the cafeteria in their backpacks, these are serious signs that the child is at risk for hunger.”
With the addition of the new Snack Pantry at Jones Elementary and the ongoing Food BackPack Program, BackPack Beginnings strives to provide every needy child with a healthy snack during the week and nutritious food for the weekends. “A starving brain is a brain that can’t learn,” says Samantha Lee.
Written on 3/11/2014 by Blogger Angie Burkey
