Feeding SulCo Hungry School Kids
Donation protected
MWell, another year has passed and it's time for the Secret Elf Society of Sullivan County, New York, to start our annual "Secret Elf" mobilization to help someone or a family or a group to have a happy holiday, whether it be Christmas, Hanukkah, Bodhi, Id al-Fitr, Yule, Solstice, Kwanzaa, Omisoka, Shabe-Yalda, or any of the other celebrations of Joy around this time of year! Children are children no matter what they believe, and they all have a right to be happy, at least at this time of the year.
With all that said, We have been brainstorming for the last three months about what we could do this year to put smiles on children's faces at least for a little while. A few days ago a boy one of our secret members mentors asked the member if they could stop to get something to eat when after being picked him up from school for an appointment he had. The member asked him if he ate lunch at school (BOCES in Ferndale) and he said no. And the reason was because he saw another kid who didn't have money given a reduced and, in my opinion, NOT nutritious enough meal at the lunch line and he saw the kid was starving. This 13 year old felt so bad that he gave his lunch to the kid without money. Apparently he'd done this, or at least shared his lunch with this particular kid several times in the past. By what I have learned at a meeting with BOCES the kids who cannot pay are allowed to charge up to 5 meals after which they are given a choice of either a P&J sandwich, a plain cheese sandwich, or a turkey sandwich, one string cheese stick and one milk. Does that sound like an adequate lunch for kids who are expected to learn, retain material, study, engage in physical activity, play sports, etc? No. I don't think so. Mind you, and I stress this - BOCES is NOT at fault here! They are under severe budget constraints just like everyone else. After meeting with them, I know they would feed every kid properly if they could.
So this is the plan for this years Sullivan County effort:
A gofundme account has been set up to collect donations and pay off the lunch room debt of as many children as we can. Yea, I know, it's not our responsibility, blah, blah, blah, it's the parents faults that the kids don't have money in their accounts. The thing is that the parents are irrelevant in this venture. The only thing which is relevant is that a kid leaves the lunch room with a hungry stomach and that is wrong, and we can do something about it. Unfortunately it is a temporary fix, but it will make some kids happy for a little while. This effort is not geared to pay off past debts, rather to make sure that the kids today and tomorrow and for as long as the fund lasts, will have a complete and nutritious meal every day.
This year we are donating the funds to the BOCES kids in Ferndale. We feel that when folks think about hungry children at schools, they typically think about the main school districts, Monticello, Liberty, Fallsburg, etc, but no one really considers the kids in BOCES, and those kids are typically the most needy on so many levels!
Folks, we know times are not easy, and we are certainly not asking you to empty your bank accounts or put this venture before your own kids and families, but if you can spare even just a couple of dollars for one of our county's hungry kids, please consider doing so, and if you wish to become a Secret SulCo Elf, let Bill Liblick know and he will pass your name to us. We do this ONLY once a year, and Sullivan County is in fact the poorest county in New York State, and there are so many kids who go hungry right here in our own county, every day.
Ok, here is the gofundme link to help feed our local children who go hungry in our local schools, and at home for that matter, every day. The need is real and it is a painful one. Please be as generous as you can and believe us when we write, no donation is too small.
https://www.gofundme.com/feeding-sulco-hungry-school-kids
Thanks for your help in our noble venture!
With all that said, We have been brainstorming for the last three months about what we could do this year to put smiles on children's faces at least for a little while. A few days ago a boy one of our secret members mentors asked the member if they could stop to get something to eat when after being picked him up from school for an appointment he had. The member asked him if he ate lunch at school (BOCES in Ferndale) and he said no. And the reason was because he saw another kid who didn't have money given a reduced and, in my opinion, NOT nutritious enough meal at the lunch line and he saw the kid was starving. This 13 year old felt so bad that he gave his lunch to the kid without money. Apparently he'd done this, or at least shared his lunch with this particular kid several times in the past. By what I have learned at a meeting with BOCES the kids who cannot pay are allowed to charge up to 5 meals after which they are given a choice of either a P&J sandwich, a plain cheese sandwich, or a turkey sandwich, one string cheese stick and one milk. Does that sound like an adequate lunch for kids who are expected to learn, retain material, study, engage in physical activity, play sports, etc? No. I don't think so. Mind you, and I stress this - BOCES is NOT at fault here! They are under severe budget constraints just like everyone else. After meeting with them, I know they would feed every kid properly if they could.
So this is the plan for this years Sullivan County effort:
A gofundme account has been set up to collect donations and pay off the lunch room debt of as many children as we can. Yea, I know, it's not our responsibility, blah, blah, blah, it's the parents faults that the kids don't have money in their accounts. The thing is that the parents are irrelevant in this venture. The only thing which is relevant is that a kid leaves the lunch room with a hungry stomach and that is wrong, and we can do something about it. Unfortunately it is a temporary fix, but it will make some kids happy for a little while. This effort is not geared to pay off past debts, rather to make sure that the kids today and tomorrow and for as long as the fund lasts, will have a complete and nutritious meal every day.
This year we are donating the funds to the BOCES kids in Ferndale. We feel that when folks think about hungry children at schools, they typically think about the main school districts, Monticello, Liberty, Fallsburg, etc, but no one really considers the kids in BOCES, and those kids are typically the most needy on so many levels!
Folks, we know times are not easy, and we are certainly not asking you to empty your bank accounts or put this venture before your own kids and families, but if you can spare even just a couple of dollars for one of our county's hungry kids, please consider doing so, and if you wish to become a Secret SulCo Elf, let Bill Liblick know and he will pass your name to us. We do this ONLY once a year, and Sullivan County is in fact the poorest county in New York State, and there are so many kids who go hungry right here in our own county, every day.
Ok, here is the gofundme link to help feed our local children who go hungry in our local schools, and at home for that matter, every day. The need is real and it is a painful one. Please be as generous as you can and believe us when we write, no donation is too small.
https://www.gofundme.com/feeding-sulco-hungry-school-kids
Thanks for your help in our noble venture!
Organizer
Gabriel Espinosa
Organizer
Monticello, NY