Celebrating Partnership: The Impact of Collaboration

Gracious/Good and Caring—Samaritan is what comes to mind first when Second Harvest is involved.  My first experience with this organization was helping initiate Back Pack Buddies in 2013, at the Gallatin School with my daughter’s FBLA Project. From there, it’s been a continual blessing each and every time. Back up nine years ago—I walked through the doors at North Daviess R-III in Jameson-a rural school full of needs and assistance, and once again Second Harvest has been that helping hand-Good Neighbor.

Food insecurities for our kiddos is always at the top of my “worries”. Our DESE Parents As Teachers Program has a component called Family Resources and Second Harvest is the positive part that adds stability for our families—not only in PAT but in the Elementary and High School.  Big example, last year our small tight knit rural community experienced a catastrophic loss with the complete collapse of our gymnasium and cafeteria. Here was a large part of a rural school, a school community where even my 96 year old mother attended, gone – rubble.

Our kids, our community, they were petrified. Many tears were shed and fear was ever apparent among our North Daviess Knights. What will happen to us? These same kids' school community was not only interrupted in their education but a Free Breakfast and Free Lunch, that each student received every school day.  Our school year had just begun and parents were depending on those meals. Money was tight and those free meals helped many of our families. 

Within a few days, not weeks, our school received the call from our Samaritan, Second Harvest: What do you need? What can we do? Second Harvest took the need list of kid friendly food items and later that same day a phone call came into our school with How many boxes do you need for these families?

Fast forward two days later and in drove a Second Harvest delivery to our school. Second Harvest representatives didn’t just drop off boxes and leave, but with smiles and compassion they loaded a weeks worth of meals in boxes onto a bus and with volunteer teachers these Second Harvest representatives jumped on that bus and assisted in delivery to each and every school household in our Jameson/Coffey Community. 

When in the need of DIRE assistance Second Harvest, for our kiddos, turned tears into smiles and worry and dread into HOPE!

Second Harvest, Good Samaritan? Check!