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How does PCS issues impact Snack Pak?

Thursday, May 17th, 2012

Sponsors, Partners, Supporters, and Volunteers
I wanted to update you on the PCS/ Snack Pak relationship. As of Monday May 14th, Phyllis Cook has resigned from PCS as the executive director. Unfortunately Michelle and Maggie have been laid off  by the PCS board and no longer have a formal role with the program. My hope is they will continue to volunteer with our program, but ultimately they will need to do what is best for them and their family. I am deeply saddened and surprised by this news and know they were a great resource for our  program. The staff responsible for processing the donations and finances were not affected by these changes.

So what does this mean for Snack Pak 4 Kids? When we started this partnership 19 months ago our total focus was to feed kids. That focus has not changed. In fact without this partnership we would not be able to feed 2700 kids in 9 school districts with many more planned for next Fall. What has changed is the ability for PCS to provide the staff and support for daily operations of the program for the near future. What are our plans to deal with this change?

First, we are preparing to pack and prep bags on May 22nd so we can finish the year. We will need help delivering totes to the schools on May 23rd and May 30th. We are also making plans to implement 2 or 3 pilot summer feeding programs after school is out. We will need assistance with this effort also. Our primary focus has not changed, we are feeding kids. 100% of all money that has been donated will continue to buy food only. I will pay all the expenses out of my pocket that are not food related until we can get this partnership issue resolved. I met with the Amarillo Area Foundation three weeks ago and they have suggested other 501c3 organizations we may want to consider as a partner if the PCS partnership is unable to continue.

I am sure this has created more questions than answers and I am available by phone or email to address any of your concerns or ideas. The last thing we would want is the kids to go without because of unanswered questions or concerns. We have made too much progress ending weekend hunger in the Texas Panhandle to let this stop our progress.

Since we launched our website in October we have published our financials monthly for everyone to see. Click on our April financials to see our latest information.

Thank you

Dyron Howell, Founder Snack Pak 4 Kids

806-342-6190 or dyron@snackpak4kids.org

 

“What Does Hunger Feel Like?”

Sunday, April 8th, 2012

Imagine a child looking across the street and all they want to do is eat at the neighbor’s table. This is how an elementary student in Amarillo answered the question, “What does hunger Feel Like?”
"What does hunger feel like?"

Second Baptist Church Sponsors Rolling Hills

Friday, March 16th, 2012

Who would have thought a chance meeting at the Panhandle Community Services office with a member of the Second Baptist Church would end weekend hunger at Rolling Hills Elementary?  The Women’s Ministry team has made that a reality for 50 elementary kids at the River Road school.  Every other Tuesday 20-30 volunteers meet at the Snack Pak 4 Kids warehouse to help assemble bags for the entire Snack Pak program.  They send a team of volunteers to pick up the bags at the warehouse on Thursday morning  and make deliveries every week to Rolling Hills.  Thank you Second Baptist Church Women’s Ministry for sponsoring the kids at  Rolling Hills Elementary.

http://www.sbcama.org/ministries-women-s

Snack Pak 4 Kids

What Does Hunger Feel Like?

Tuesday, March 6th, 2012

WHAT DOES HUNGER FEEL LIKE? Read essay written by a 5th grader in AISD how he feels:

Volunteers Make a Difference

Saturday, February 11th, 2012

The best way to find yourself, is to lose yourself in the service of others-Mahtma Gandhi. Can you imagine over 200 people from different backgrounds coming together for one cause to end weekend hunger in our schools. In a country where we are divided on many topics and beliefs, it is humbling to see all of those things disappear for  one hour at our warehouse.  Every other Tuesday we have churches, youth groups, businesses, retired seniors, stay at home moms, pharmacist, doctors, teachers, girl scouts, nurses, and every other group you can imagine helping us assemble over 3500 Snack Paks. Without this support we would not serve over 2150 kids in AISD. What you don’t see if you come to our warehouse is the 8 churches in Amarillo and Bushland that do the same thing at their church to support the schools they sponsor. Without R.S.V.P. (Retired Senior Volunteer Program) none of this would happen.  They organize all the volunteers and prep for the massive effort every other week. Thank you LaRue, Rick, and Gloria at RSVP for all your help.Snack Pak 4 Kids

Snack Pak 4 Kids Volunteers

 

2011 was an Incredible Year!!

Monday, January 2nd, 2012

Jan 1, 2011 2 schools and 100 kids were on the program. We now have almost 2000 kids in 8 school districts (Canyon, Amarillo, Hereford, Bushland, Fritch, Walcott, Tulia, and River Road). THANK YOU to all the donors, sponsors, churches, volunteers, school staff, and community coordinators who are making weekend hunger a thing of the past in our communities. Our goal is by 2015 every community in the Texas Panhandle has a weekend backpack program for their children.

Fewer Nurse Visits at 1 School on Monday Morning

Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011

I just wanted to share some interesting data that our nurse has collected. We counted the number of students who were sent to the nurses' office on Monday morning for a stomach ache or a head ache from the beginning of school until the 1st week of November last year and this year. This year, we have seen 25 less students than we did last year. It is interesting to me that our total enrollment is also up by 40 students. The Snack Pak bags are helping students stay in the classroom and out of the nurses office. We know that the more opportunity they have to learn, the better the opportunity to graduate and become productive citizens. Thank you for all you do!

Terri
Principal
Will Rogers Elementary

Happy State Bank Collects 37,000 Pop Tarts

Wednesday, November 16th, 2011

Over 7,700 pop tarts collected by Soncy location and 2,900 at the Tascosa Rd. See Channel 7 story.

AMARILLO, TEXAS — Alleviating hunger in school children over the weekend is the mission of “Snack Pak 4 Kids“. It’s volunteers and businesses in the area that are helping the program accomplish that goal.


Happy State Bank is one of those making a difference in the Panhandle Spirit.

“We collected 37,000 Pop-Tarts or equivalent to over 6,100 boxes,” said Cari Roach, Vice President, Marketing Director of Happy State Bank.

Happy State Bank heard there was a need for Pop-Tarts, and its people say they were more than happy to answer the call.

All through October, branches in Amarillo, Canyon, and Hereford collected them, and here’s why that was so important. The program buys food through the Food Bank, but couldn’t do that for Pop-Tarts and peanut butter.

“Snack Pak 4 Kids” is a program that discreetly puts snacks in kids’ backpacks to take home for the weekend.

“When we heard hungry kids and a program to reach out to them. We had to, there was no choice,” said Roach.

“Am overjoyed at our employees. These employees bought these pop-tarts themselves, the bank did not. The bank did make a monetary donation because we do believe in taking care of our communities and serving in our communities.”

So how can you help?

“You can volunteer to help organize, you can donate money, you can donate peanut butter or Pop-Tarts yourself. It takes $133 a year to feed a child through this program,” said Roach.

She says the Pop-Tart drive will more than likely turn into an annually event since it was such a success.

For more information on how you can help “Snack Pak 4 Kids”, click here.

http://www.connectamarillo.com/news/story.aspx?id=681947#.TsNb4mCXsfE

How Snack Pak is Making a Difference

Wednesday, November 9th, 2011

Things are going well at Eastridge. I have kids come and ask on Monday when they return their backpacks if they will receive them again on Friday. My answer is always yes and I receive a big hug or high five and big smiles every time. One of our Burmese students told me that he doesn’t have to go to the nurse on Monday anymore because his stomach doesn’t hurt on Monday mornings anymore. I talked to some of the teachers and they are beginning to see a difference in the kids who receive the Snak Paks in regards to attendance and attentiveness. Thank you for all you do.
Blessings,
Anthony

Over 2800 pop tarts donated byJr League of Amarillo

Monday, November 7th, 2011
Snack Pak 4 Kids pop tart drive Jr League of Amarillo
Jr League of Amarillo pop tart drive

Thank you Jr. League of Amarillo for donating over 2850 pop tarts to the Snack Pak 4 Kids program.  The Jr. League has also sponsored 10 kids at Wills elementary with a grant.  Thank you for your support.  The generous donation of pop tarts will allow us to lower the cost of each bag and provide our children with some variety each week.  We are able to purchase all items is the bag except pop tarts and peanut butter. If you or your business would like to conduct a food drive to help children in 6 school districts go to the Get Involved section of our website to learn more.