Over 200 Area Children Served by LH YMCA Backpack Program

By LaKeshia Knarr

LOCK HAVEN – Looking to meet a critical need in the surrounding communities while serving their broader mission of helping others, staff at Lock Haven Area YMCA is offering a special program that is making a big difference locally.

It’s called the Backpack Program. Through it, the local YMCA is serving 228 students – ensuring the youngsters are able to take home food each weekend, when schools are not providing two meals a day.

“In some of our schools, only one out of four families is living above the poverty level… The need is there. People just don’t see it sometimes. They don’t see when a child goes home,” said Lori Lohman, school age director and Backpack Program coordinator at the Lock Haven Area YMCA.

“There are a lot of statistics that show kids who are not eating nutritious meals are not achieving as high of grades in school, are falling into trouble, et cetera. Our goal is to impact kids’ lives through food and a nutritional meal,” explained Chad Eberhart, chief executive officer of the YMCA. “The schools are doing a great job during the school week. This is helping to fill in the gap over the weekends and holidays.”

The local YMCA’s program assists students attending Robb, Woodward and Renovo elementary schools, Lohman said.

Michelle Hoy, librarian at Renovo Elementary School and Bucktail High School, coordinates the Renovo portion of the local YMCA’s Backpack Program. “She is the backbone of the program in Renovo. We couldn’t do this without her support and the help all of her volunteers,” Lohman said.

Other schools within Keystone Central School District are supported by various other organizations, she noted.

“Everyone is invited to participate in this program,” she said, adding a form is sent out at the beginning of the year notifying parents of the opportunity to participate. “We don’t discriminate. Anyone can utilize the program.”

School guidance counselors, librarians and nurses aid in the initiative, too, by directly connecting with students they believe could benefit from the program in a private manner.

“The bag full of food supplements whatever students have at home,” she said, describing how the bags typically contain breakfast items, some fruit and vegetables, snack items and nonperishable meals. “We’re not only emphasizing the child, but also the family, too.”

Weis provides plastic bags for the program, Lohman  said, however she enjoys sending donations home in actual backpacks at least once a year in honor of the program’s name.  The Weis bags, she noted, are actually a more practical option as students don’t have to carry two backpacks around and can easily store the plastic bag inside their school bag for discretion.

The program, costing a couple thousand dollars each month according to Lohman, is supported by the YMCA, in addition to donation by local companies, churches and civic organizations.

Volunteers – including students, retirees such as those from the Pennsylvania Association of School Retirees, Croda employees, and high school seniors working on their senior projects – help pack and prepare the food, store inventory and deliver bags to the schools.

“It’s always been our goal to one day expand this program into the middle school, and offer something like a ‘hidden closet,’” Lohman said of the staff’s idea to expand the program in an inconspicuous way to an older age group. “We’re looking for support. This is something we cannot do alone.”

HOW YOU CAN HELP

“We’re always looking for volunteers,” Lohman said, noting volunteering helps the YMCA fulfil its mission while also addressing a community need. “It’s a great opportunity to get to know other people in your community.”

Those interested in helping out can assist in more ways than one, she said. Volunteers can stuff bags, or deliver them to schools.

Cash, check and nonperishable food donations are also welcome. To send a check, write “Backpack Program” in the memo line and mail it to: Attn: Lori Lohman, Lock Haven Area YMCA, 145 W. Water St., Lock Haven, PA 17745.  Nonperishable food donations can be dropped off in boxes located just inside the main doors. Visit www.lockhavenymca.com to learn more.

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