Newport Rotary Hosts BackPack Friends

Danielle Abraham of BackPack Friends delivers a heart-
felt message about the hunger that children face daily
in our local communities 

Danielle Abraham of the BackPack Friends ministry at Cape Carteret Baptist Church was the guest speaker at the Newport Rotary Club on Monday afternoon, September 16, 2013. The project started out as a ministry of the church in 2009 and has grown exponentially throughout Carteret and Onslow Counties as other churches and civic organizations have gotten involved.

BackPack Friends provides nutritional meals and snacks to children who may need a little extra over the weekend. By supplying these bags, their goal is to assist in meeting the child's (and often the family's) nutritional and mental needs and overall well-being. BackPack Friends targets kids who access free and reduced-price breakfasts and lunches at school. Children are identified as “in need” by school guidance counselors and site coordinators. Backpacks are filled with healthy foods and are discreetly distributed to children before weekends or holiday vacations and empty backpacks are recollected and refilled for the next weekend’s use.

District Gov. Andy Chused

District 7730 Governor Andy Chused and Assistant Governor Bill Kaeser were present at the meeting and presented a check from The Rotary Foundation for $5,100 to support the project in the western part of Carteret County. A total of $8,000 is being distributed in Carteret County from this grant to BackPack Friends, with the balance being administered buy other Rotary clubs. The funds are part of a Matching Grant of The Rotary Foundation, which was instigated and sponsored by Rotarians in India as a "thank you" for projects being done in their country. Newport Rotarians will be "hands-on" in the project by helping stock the bags and deliver them to the schools.

Ms. Abraham was joined by Becky Rowland, also involved in BackPack Friends, as guests of the club. Both were invited by Club President Pam Wall.  

Click here for the Brochure on the BackPack Friends Project. Click here for the BackPack Friends webpage.