Many questions are swirling about before we see you in September. The questions about what will happen in September for Weekend Survival Kits are currently being addressed. The pandemic has had a huge impact on the schools and the children/families we serve in those 80 schools on our service list. Rest assured we are planning and trying to forecast any possible changes. We are staying in close contact with the Food Banks to understand the supply source and food cost challenges (we have been advised by Greater Lansing Food Bank to prepare for and budget a 30 to 40 percent increase in food costs). Additionally, we hope to hear soon from the schools we serve on ways we may need to adjust as the new school year begins.
Here is what we know for sure before we See You in September :
- We will need to confirm volunteer commitments, especially from those volunteers/organizations who have been responsible for delivery and school coordination in the past.
- For those that packed at Okemos Community Church, there is a new location. There will be two new volunteer commitments needed to coordinate the packing and distribution activities which formerly happened at Okemos Community Church. OCC’s gathering space is under construction and it is not available for the school year. The good news is that 242 Church Lansing Campus has agreed to share their space for packing sessions this coming school year, it is located in Okemos on Bennett Rd. We need volunteers to coordinate set-up, distribution, and clean-up. This was normally the work of Crew Leaders Gina and Jillaine. Sadly, both have resigned because of the greater need for focus on their families.
- While we don’t have numbers yet, our best guess is that there will be more children and families who need the support of Weekend Survival Kits. And, based on possible scenarios for schools splitting the attendance between onsite and off, it will continue to challenge those families who relied on the school breakfast and lunch program during the week. We forecast that the need for financial support to purchase and package food kits will be greater than ever. Our Promise Keepers campaign continues!
- The Hunger Heroes Race will not happen this year. This is a decision that was made several months ago. As much as we enjoyed the race and the chance to see so many runners make this a family affair, the time and effort was greater than the return. We want to thank all of our sponsors and those volunteers who worked tirelessly on the race series – hopefully we will find a new way to engage which delivers more dollars into directly feeding hungry kids!
There is much to do before we see you in September and the new school year starts. If you have time to help us with coordinating the plans for the new school year, please reach out to Jeff Gorsline via email: jeff@weekendsurvivalkits.org.