School Counselor Tiffany Atkins gives Darren his weekend meal pack and a smile at Washington-Wilkes Primary School.
3rd grader Darren loves to read and learn about computers. If you ask him what he wants to be when he grows up, he says, “Maybe a doctor!” Darren and his brother live with their mom, the family’s sole caretaker. She wakes up early each morning to work at a local restaurant. The family has been struggling for months on her meager earnings.
Tiffany Atkins, Darren’s School Counselor at Washington-Wilkes Primary School in Washington, GA, says she sees this situation a lot. “This area has lost a lot of industry,” she explains. “Parents who are able to find work may have to take jobs where they are making barely anything.”
Children of these parents are easy to spot because they are often hungry. “When I had breakfast duty, I started to notice them—the children who constantly asked for more food. I realized they were going hungry,” Ms. Atkins remembers.
Because of your support, Darren and 21 other children at Washington-Wilkes now receive a weekend BackPack meal pack each Friday, which includes healthy foods like low-sugar cereal and apple sauce.
This food provides Darren and his peers with more than just great nutrition. Ms. Atkins says that children in the program feel more secure during the school week knowing that food is coming on Friday and their weekend will not be hungry. “Now they get that reassurance, and they know that someone is taking care of them,” she says.
Ms. Atkins’ greatest wish is extend the BackPack Program to Washington-Wilkes Elementary, where Darren’s brother attends school. “We need this program at all of our schools in Wilkes County,” she says. “My students ask for BackPacks for siblings who attend other schools all the time.”
Darren and children like him are deeply grateful for your help. When the school held a food drive recently, a teacher saw Darren putting a few of the items from his BackPack into a bin.
Ms. Atkins retrieved the food and took him aside, assuring him that he did not need to participate. Darren replied, “Well, I like to eat all the food [from my BackPack], but since people help me, I want to help them too.” Thank you for giving Darren wholesome nutrition and the security of knowing you care!
