Empowering Kids to Enjoy Their Summer
Posted by Brian Alexander on Monday, July 18, 2011
Editor’s Note: All summer, Share Our Strength staff will be visiting summer meals sites across the country to show our work in action. This post is part of that series. To learn more about Summer Meals, visit strength.org/summer.
Since joining Share Our Strength as an AmeriCorps VISTA member in January, it has become evident that hunger does not discriminate between rural and urban. Maryland is one of the most densely-populated states in the country (it ranked 6th in population density in 2000), but even here, you will find rural regions and small towns where Share Our Strength is working to end childhood hunger. A perfect example is Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
Last week, the Summer Meals Tour rolled across the Bay Bridge and south to the town of Cambridge, where we had the pleasure of visiting two of our summer grant recipients. Although Cambridge itself is a small urban area and is not far from Washington as the crow flies, it is reachable by only one major point of access, and the lifestyle is completely different from that within the beltway. In fact, one thing that Mike, Alice, and I remarked on as we passed farms and small bayside towns is how far away we felt from our offices and the bustle of life in DC.
Our first stop of the day was the Empowerment Center, which is in a small building near the town’s police station. The center, which has been in existence for ten years, aims to provide programming for children in a safe environment and is entirely volunteer-run. This summer, over 60 children attend the center each day to receive breakfast and lunch and participate in a variety of activities. Children arrive for breakfast but are kept engaged throughout the day with games and educational enrichment programming like a word-of-the-day book.
Unsurprisingly, the thing that struck me most about our visit was the people we encountered. We met Portia Johnson-Ennels, Octavene Saunders, and several others who selflessly give their time to ensure that kids are receiving at least two meals a day this summer which they may not otherwise receive at home. So often the work of such volunteers goes unnoticed, especially in areas like Cambridge that are removed from major metropolitan centers. However, across the country, volunteers like Portia and Octavene are vitally important to sites that provide kids with their most basic of needs; nutritious meals.
Over their coloring books and bowls of cereal, Mike, Alice, and I made a point to ask many of the kids what made summer special for them. Overwhelmingly, we were met with smiling faces, and answers like swimming in the pool, taking a trip to the beach, or spending the day at an amusement park. The children were so eager to show us the pictures they had drawn on their word-of-the-day book and throw on their No Kid Hungry shades. In short, it was clear they love summer for all the same reasons that I did as a kid; it’s a time to be care-free, enjoy the outdoors, and have fun with your friends.
Through the work of organizations like the Empowerment Center and the tremendous dedication of each of its volunteers, Share Our Strength is working to ensure that all kids in this country can say what they love most about summer with a smile and a full stomach.
RELATED LINKS:
— Learn more about Share Our Strength’s Summer Meals work
— Help Support Summer Meals Work
July 18, 2011 | 2 comment(s) | Tags: eastern shore, maryland, no kid hungry, summer meals
Comments
2 reader comments so far.
You are doing really cool and important work -- loved your piece. Keep it up! Maybe you can share some of your experience with SOS at Bethesda UMC some time?? Mind if I add a link to your blog from our webpage?
Posted by Rev. Ron Foster on July 20, 2011
Thanks, Rev. Foster and yes, we welcome you to link to this post.
Posted by Share Our Strength on July 22, 2011
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