This post was written by Elizabeth Ralston, FamilyWorks Volunteer Coordinator
JSIS Student & Her Poster
John Stanford International School has partnered with FamilyWorks for their Community Action Project during the month of May. To market the project to the school community, the students made signs and teachers wrote and distributed a flyer describing the project in great detail.
On May 14, sixteen student representatives from the school visited our organization to learn more about what we do
Touring the Food Bank
and get answers to some of their questions. The students got a tour of the resource center and food bank and learned about our programs and the people we serve. They came back to their classrooms and shared what they learned.
One of the burning questions asked was: “Why do you want peanut butter and diapers?” And the answer is:
Many people who use our food bank don’t have refrigerators or a place to store meat and other perishable food. Second, many people do not have a stove or a means to cook meat or tofu. Peanut butter is a very easy and simple snack—it is a great source of protein and can be put in a purse or backpack and eaten/applied directly from the jar if needed.
Diapers are so expensive that many people struggle to make the ones they have last as long as possible and this often means having children wear soiled diapers longer (which has health consequences). Some people try to re-use soiled diapers by washing them and cleaning them as best they can, to make them last longer. Also, many people cannot afford purchasing cloth diapers and covers, not to mention the cost of washing machines or laundromat fees to wash cloth diapers.
You can read more about the JSIS student’s experience here.
Tower of Diapers and Peanut Butter
So far we have received 170 jars of peanut butter and 4,320 diapers, plus cash donations totalling $519.73, as a result of the JSIS student’s initiative and heart for their neighbors. Truly inspiring.
Thank you JSIS, especially Ms. Gillespie and the incredible students, for your amazing support of FamilyWorks!
JSIS Student Representatives
Interested in doing something like this? It’s easy! Just give us a call at 206-576-6534 or email elizabethr@familyworksseattle.org and we will get you started!
–QUICK UPDATE–
We at FamilyWorks thought this was pretty cool. On top of everything the students at John Stanford have accomplished just last weekend four students from JSIS held a bake sale to benefit FamilyWorks and raised $71.52!!! Way to go girls!
