My references are squared away, I've never committed a felony, I like crafts and photography, I like to sing....I think I've just signed up for a dating service. :-)
This decision to help out the Boys & Girls Club of Kentuckiana (BGCK) came to me for two reasons.
Reason 1. I am the current president of the Louisville Chapter of American Society of Safety Engineers and we support the Dare to Care Food Bank (DCFB). The DCFB is an organization that was born out of tragedy. On Thanksgiving Eve in 1969, in Louisville, KY, 9 year old, Bobby Ellis, died of malnutrition. The community vowed another would not die under their watch and Dare to Care was born.
They collect non-perishable items and all types of fresh fruits and vegetables to serve the needy in the community. Overweight children may be looked upon by some who'll say, "That kid doesn't need my money or my food he looks like he gets plenty." But what education and a little tender heartedness will show you is that many impoverished families cannot afford high quality fruits and vegetables and the best meats to feed their families. They end up dining on spoonfuls of low cost, high fat, no nutrition mac and cheese and pound after pound of ground beef chuck. Night after night children are fed these foods and some children don't know what real vegetables look like. We certainly can't blame them for this.
These children need our help and Dare to Care Food Bank partners with the Boys & Girls Club of Kentuckiana to serve hot, nutritional meals as part of their program. So when children spend their summers with BGCK and spend their evenings after school there they are provided with these meals. Parents are able to save some money and hopefully are able to provide healthier meals over the weekends. However, for those who can't children are also provided with food through the Backpack Buddy program. Teachers stash food in the children's backpacks during recess or lunch breaks on Fridays. Teachers have reported seeing children eating the food on the schoolbus probably because they know they have to share at home.
So, you may ask why I'm not helping the Dare to Care program. Well, I am; we are. Josh and I are signing up to serve the children of the BGCK a night a week at the local club. The Louisville Chapter of ASSE is also collecting food and monetary donations to give to the Dare to Care Food Bank. If you are in the Louisville area I encourage you to get involved in some way with this group. Visit http://www.daretocare.org/ for more information. If you are not in the Louisville area I encourage you to seek out a food bank or other organization in your area.
Reason 2. The Salvation Army recently had to close some of their Boys and Girls Clubs in Louisville, KY, due to finances. However, the BGCK is re-opening them. I'd like to help support them so the organization can thrive and the boys and girls of Kentuckiana who are enrolled in the program can have a chance. I've signed up for a few individual programs that fit my skills set. If you don't know much about the organization you can visit http://www.bgckyana.org/ for BGCK or for the national site visit http://www.bgca.org/Pages/index.aspx to find a club near you and learn how you can help.
I'm looking forward to this endeavor. I think it'll change the way I eat a steak and the way I laugh. :-)
