Nelson Mandela once said, "There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children."
Florida Keys community can take pride this month in a childhood hunger initiative that has finally expanded past the Middle Keys into Key West. The great news is that this simple and highly effective project -- the Grace Jones Backpack Program in Marathon -- will be operational in Key West at our Inez Martin Child Development Center.
As a multifaceted, nationally accredited agency working with children and families throughout Monroe County, the mission of Wesley House is to promote and enhance the safety, well-being, and development of children by educating, supporting, and meeting the needs of families. Our goal is to develop and encourage a more child-caring community in the Florida Keys. Our motto is "helping our community one family at a time in the Florida Keys."
Wesley House believes accomplishing our goal is critically important to the quality of lives -- and often even to the physical lives -- of hundreds of disadvantaged children in the Florida Keys. In our nearly 100-year history, the last 2¬½ years have presented an absolutely skyrocketing level of human need that challenges our programs like never before, placing Wesley House in a position of daunting responsibility.
One of the most heartbreaking challenges I face as the CEO of Wesley House is where to focus our resources when there are so many immediate challenges. In my triage mode, I can think of no problem more pressing than malnourished children right here in the Florida Keys.
Hungry kids in the Keys? You bet! Recently the U.S. Census Bureau announced that 47 million people in America are now living in poverty -- the largest number ever in the 52 years for which poverty estimates are available. Matching this revelation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture stunned the nation with an alarming report that 50 million Americans are "food insecure" -- including 17 million children -- meaning that one out of every six people in the U.S. does not know where their next meal is coming from.
While it is tempting to think these alarming facts couldn't possibly affect our paradise here in Monroe County, in fact they do. The Florida Keys' perceived affluence masks a growing number of low-income working families -- working poor -- who are the essence of our service, construction, tourism, and fishing economy.
Working poor are two words that should not go together, especially in the United States. It has always been a time-honored concept that if you worked, you should not be impoverished. A catastrophic reality in the Florida Keys is that our working poor population is ever-present. In this troubled economy, the sense of security from holding a reasonably well-paid job is absent for thousands in the Keys. Even those employees who are working find they can barely support their families. In some cases, families work two to three jobs to earn wage levels that were once enough, but today fall short of what is needed to survive in the Keys.
These low-income, working families have hundreds of poor children who too often miss meals, especially when children are home over weekends and holidays. Enter the Grace Jones Backpack Program. Initiated three years ago by a Wesley House partner, the Grace Jones Backpack Program today serves 150 of our poorest children in the Middle Keys by providing backpacks full of child-friendly food to children each Friday. This food is for personal consumption by children who find sparse or empty cupboards at home and are removed from weekday meals provided in school or child care.
This month Wesley House debuted our new Backpacks for Kids program at our Inez Martin Child Development Center. I cannot begin to describe the feeling of joy that prevailed as tiny children accepted their individual backpacks crammed full of cereal, juice boxes, granola bars, fruit cups, and even more staple items including meat and pasta. There were tears of gratitude from parents as over 70 backpacks were distributed, including extra helpings for siblings at home who are also at risk of hunger.
Everyone can help with the new program. While I am deeply thankful to volunteers who lovingly packed our first distribution of backpacks, this program also needs financial support. It couldn't be easier -- just go to www.wesleyhouse.org.
Douglas Blomberg is CEO of Wesley House Family Services.
-
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
-
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
-
Saturday, January 28, 2012
-
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
News.Yahoo.com - Visit DolphinsMotel.com
