What's in a Doctor's Bag?

Rev. George connected us with Dr. Neil Shulman, the author of the book, "What...Dead Again?" that was made into the movie, "Doc Hollywood." Dr. Shulman came to Indian Creek Elementary to do a 30 minute program called "What's in a Doctor's Bag?" for the students.  They absolutely loved the program!

We spoke with Dr. Shulman afterwards and found out that he was part of an organization called The Global Humanitarian Summit, which was located on the Emory University campus.  He asked us to be a part of the organization.  There would be a meeting on Thursday at Emory.  It sounds interesting and it would be a great way to spread the word about our program.

Shallowford Presbyterian

Meeting today at Shallowford Presbyterian...we discussed the official launch day which would be on January 5, 2012.  We also discussed how far the grant money would be able to assist us.  Based on the money we have, we could buy food for 65 students until the end of May, which is the end of the school year.  After May, we have little or no money left.  So, our task between now and May 2012 is to find more funds to keep the Brown Bag program going.

Our goal, hope, and dream is to have this program continue for years to come.  We know that it is difficult when you start something new, but we hope that the kindness and love continue to pour in to support this program.

PATH GRANT!!!!!!!!!!!

Today was an extra awesome day!!  Rev. George informed us that we had gotten the PATH grant for our program.  That would be $5000 that would help us to finally get started in buying food and supplies for our students.  Yay!

Publix Donations!

We picked up our first donations from Publix today.  There were three boxes filled with sheet cakes, breads, and pastries.  We were so amazed at the generosity!  As soon as we picked up the food, we went to Willow Branch, an apartment complex that a lot of our students live at, to deliver some of the food.  

All of the families that we delivered to were very gracious.  But, before accepting the food, they were very hesitant because they thought that they would have to pay for the food!  After we told them that the food was free, there seemed to be a sigh of relief.  One of the kids immediately asked his mom to open up the bag of bread so he could have a piece.  As soon as his mom gave him the bread, he quickly started to devour it with a huge smile on his face!  It was at this moment we knew we were on the right path.  The Brown Bag program had started :)

 

Glenn Memorial

Diana finally got to meet Rev. Chris and his wife, Sara Hayden, today when they and Rev. George went to Glenn Memorial to see how they organized their Snack in a Backpack program.  The Brown Bag packing would be organized similar to the way Glenn Memorial does theirs.

Rev. Chris Henry

We found out from Rev. George that his friend, Reverend Chris Henry, was interested in our program and would like to partner with Memorial Presbyterian to help us.  Today, Caitlin met with Rev. Chris and Rev. George to discuss the program. 

Snack in a Backpack

 

Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church is located on the Emory University campus in Atlanta.  Going into there 2nd year, they have a program called "Snack in a Backpack" that they are doing with a school in downtown Atlanta. We first met at Everybody's Pizza in the Emory Village for dinner.  The pizza was delicious and we got the opportunity to meet more members from Memorial Presbyterian.  After dinner, Don, Carol, Tom, George, Doris, Tanya, Butch, Gloria, Carl, and us went to Glenn Memorial to see how it was organized.  This would give us a better idea of how to do the Brown Bag program.
 
We met Deborah Marlowe, who was in charge of the organization of the Snack in the Backpack program.  We learned that volunteers help to pack 150 backpacks every Thursday at Glenn Memorial.  On Friday, the filled backpacks are delivered to the school.  The students would bring the backpacks to school on Monday and the process starts again.  In the backpack there were items such as canned tuna, granola bars, juice boxes, an orange, and fruit snacks.  

Deborah was so nice to let us come and help out her program.  By doing so, it really helped us to see how much more organization and materials we would need in order to make our program work.  More things to think about....