Operation Summer Back Pack Ministry

As summer ends, we want to thank the many people who helped make our initial summer backpack program so successful.  More than 100 area children signed up to receive weekly food backpacks this summer.  Our dedicated team of volunteers packed a total of 3300 breakfasts, 2400 lunches, 3000 drinks (milk and juice), and 3500 snacks.  We also cooked over 1300 hotdogs for the lunches provided every Friday for the kids. In addition, we were privileged to have a wonderful group of retired teachers, adult mentors, and high school students from the Positively Influencing Communities (PIC) program that provided onsite reading sessions, educational games, and youth Bible study.  

As always, a huge thank you goes to our congregation for their amazing generosity and continual support of the backpack food pantry.  We also give a special thank you for the extensive support received from our local community including several UC businesses and organizations.  The kids backpack program was truly blessed by this generous and widespread support.  

Next week we will transition to our traditional school-year food backpack program at Rose Garden Elementary.  This program now in its 8th year provides neighborhood kids and their siblings with food for weekends and holidays.  We would appreciate any donations of money, food, or time so that we may continue to provide full backpacks each week for these school children.  For information contact Bob Miller at 573-3065 or Sharon Boland in the church office.