Volunteers from Aldergrove Secondary School and Aldergrove Rotary packed twice as many Starfish backpacks of food this week, to help the 50 youngsters get through spring break.
Ordinarily, the volunteer assembly line packs 50 bags for the 50 students at Aldergrove's elementary and middle schools to take home every Friday for the weekend. With spring break this coming week, the 50 students will receive two bags instead of the usual single bag of food.
"This is only the second time we have been able to provide extra meals that will help families during school holidays. Christmas break 2016 was the first time," said Rotary spokesperson Pauline Buck.
"It’s thanks to our generous donors that we are able to double the order like this and fill 100 bags instead of the regular 50. As usual, the bags will be filled by students in the ACSS hairdressing program, along with a few Rotary volunteers."
The Starfish backpack program is an initiative of the Aldergrove Rotary club, with the help of many community donors and volunteers, and it provides a pack of food, for six meals every weekend in the school year to each of the 50 students in the program. Aldergrove Rotary Club launched the Starfish Pack Program to help feed hungry children on weekends in the spring of 2015.
The cost of providing the weekend backpack to one child for a school year is $525. Rotary asks the public to consider sponsoring one or more backpacks and more hungry kids will be fed weekends for the September to June school year. See website for information: http://aldergrovestarfish.ca/donate/
