Volunteers needed Nov. 2 to pack meals for Haitian
children
Volunteers are needed Saturday, Nov. 2, to pack 50,000 meals that will be delivered to school children in Haiti. The “Pack-a-thon” will take place in the gym of Grace Lutheran Church, 1200 River Road, Teaneck, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. All ages are invited to volunteer. Even those who can only sit in a chair will be able to help.
The food is provided by New Directions International, a mission organization that provides aid for children around the world. The Teaneck Pack-a-Thon is part of a nation-wide effort through which thousands of volunteers have packed hundreds of thousands of meals for needy school children around the world.
Volunteers can come for one or more of three two-hour sessions, 10 a.m to noon, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Food is bagged, weighed, sealed and boxed during each two-hour shift. A brief instructional period begins each packing session so servers can understand the various tasks.
Each meal costs only $.27 to produce and ship. The meals are distributed to at-risk children in overseas through the New Directiors International Feed the
Hunger programs. The meals are formulated by General Mills to provide enough nutrition to bring a child of any age, even a teenager, from starvation to health, even if this is the only meal the child eats each day.
The Teaneck packages are destined for children in Haitian church schools whom members of Grace Lutheran Church and Christ Episcopal Church have been visiting in recent years. Dr. Joyce Baynes, retired head of the math department of Teaneck Schools, and Jennifer Irish and Dawn Powell Douglas of Christ Episcopal Church are co-chairs of the event, said Kay Roseen, chair of the Pack-a-Thon for Grace Lutheran Church.
Roseen, who has made five trips to Haiti to visit churches and schools in Trois Mares, said volunteers “just finished a textbook drive to provide full sets of books for each of 150 students at our Light and Peace School in Trois Mares. It is hard to do another, bigger push so soon, but the kids need both books and a full lunch program right from the start of the school year.”
The Haitian government requires children to attend school through the sixth grade, but the government provides few schools, especially in rural areas; so most schools are sponsored by churches.
“It is so satisfying to see the kids progress through school,” said Roseen, “It is great to see the school grow. We love adding a new grade each year and we're up to grade 5 for 2013-14. It is hard for our regular sponsors to keep up with the needs. That is why we are sponsoring this Pack-a-Thon. With the school's growth, our sponsors cannot keep up with the need for lunches, We want to provide more, not fewer, lunches each week, and the meals we pack will enable the students to eat lunch every week day, year round. “
Teaneck volunteers have helped rebuild the church and housing for the pastor in Trois Mares, both of which were destroyed in the hurricanes of 2008. “Those buildings are now built and used every day for school and church,” Roseen said. “We've also built a community cistern and kitchen. The money we send has always been used as we intended. Children have a strong new school. Anyone can draw water from the cistern.”
More information is available by calling Kay Roseen at 201-907-0585.
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The food is provided by New Directions International, a mission organization that provides aid for children around the world. The Teaneck Pack-a-Thon is part of a nation-wide effort through which thousands of volunteers have packed hundreds of thousands of meals for needy school children around the world.
Volunteers can come for one or more of three two-hour sessions, 10 a.m to noon, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Food is bagged, weighed, sealed and boxed during each two-hour shift. A brief instructional period begins each packing session so servers can understand the various tasks.
Each meal costs only $.27 to produce and ship. The meals are distributed to at-risk children in overseas through the New Directiors International Feed the
Hunger programs. The meals are formulated by General Mills to provide enough nutrition to bring a child of any age, even a teenager, from starvation to health, even if this is the only meal the child eats each day.
The Teaneck packages are destined for children in Haitian church schools whom members of Grace Lutheran Church and Christ Episcopal Church have been visiting in recent years. Dr. Joyce Baynes, retired head of the math department of Teaneck Schools, and Jennifer Irish and Dawn Powell Douglas of Christ Episcopal Church are co-chairs of the event, said Kay Roseen, chair of the Pack-a-Thon for Grace Lutheran Church.
Roseen, who has made five trips to Haiti to visit churches and schools in Trois Mares, said volunteers “just finished a textbook drive to provide full sets of books for each of 150 students at our Light and Peace School in Trois Mares. It is hard to do another, bigger push so soon, but the kids need both books and a full lunch program right from the start of the school year.”
The Haitian government requires children to attend school through the sixth grade, but the government provides few schools, especially in rural areas; so most schools are sponsored by churches.
“It is so satisfying to see the kids progress through school,” said Roseen, “It is great to see the school grow. We love adding a new grade each year and we're up to grade 5 for 2013-14. It is hard for our regular sponsors to keep up with the needs. That is why we are sponsoring this Pack-a-Thon. With the school's growth, our sponsors cannot keep up with the need for lunches, We want to provide more, not fewer, lunches each week, and the meals we pack will enable the students to eat lunch every week day, year round. “
Teaneck volunteers have helped rebuild the church and housing for the pastor in Trois Mares, both of which were destroyed in the hurricanes of 2008. “Those buildings are now built and used every day for school and church,” Roseen said. “We've also built a community cistern and kitchen. The money we send has always been used as we intended. Children have a strong new school. Anyone can draw water from the cistern.”
More information is available by calling Kay Roseen at 201-907-0585.
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