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Sep 15, 2016 | EDOT Staff

Blessings in a Backpack honored by Houston City Council

(L to R) Melissa Peters, Cheryl Tyler and May Sylvester Turner

 

September 13, 2016 was officially named Blessings in a Backpack Day by the Houston City Council and Mayor Sylvester Turner in honor of their work to provide nutritious meals to school children. “We know that nutritionally deprived children have trouble learning, developing and growing,” said Houston Mayor Pro Tem Ellen R. Cohen. “It is so critical that we provide them with what they need to be contributing citizens in the community in the future.”

 

Started in 2012 at Holy Spirit, Houston, Bayou City Blessings in a Backpack has grown from serving around 60 children to over 1,000 currently. Program Director Melissa Peters thanked the Houston City Council for acknowledging the “one in four children” in Houston that experience hunger. “Our group of volunteers works very hard to make sure that we become an educational partner to our children, ensuring that when they arrive to school on Monday, they are ready and able to do the work their teachers are asking them to do.,” Peters added.

 

The Rev. Josh Condon, rector of Holy Spirit, and many of the program's volunteers were on hand at Houston City Hall to commemorate the day. You can learn more about Bayou City Blessings in a Backpack at holyspirithouston.org/bcb/