Morgan Munroe

English 3020
Grant Application
4/23/16
Our Goal
Blessings in a Backpack is a National Non- Profit Organization that is working to combat
food insecurity for American children and their families.The United States Department of
Agriculture defines food insecurity as a household-level economic and social condition of
limited or uncertain access to adequate food (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2015). The
Dearborn sector was enacted in March of 2011 and partnered with The National Organization of
Blessings in a Backpack the following spring. Our branch of the organization is centered in west
Dearborn, Michigan in close vicinity to Detroit. The organization provides food to five west
Dearborn Public Elementary schools and have been capable of adding an average of one school
per year. The five participating Elementary Schools involved in the program are DuVall
Elementary, Snow Elementary, Long Elementary, Whitmore-Bolles Elementary, and Nowlin
Elementary.
By providing nourishing, non-perishable food for children to take home to their families
over the 65 hour gap that exists when school lets out on Friday and resumes Monday morning.
Since inception, we have been successfully growing and surviving solely on private donations,
fundraising, and volunteer hours. No other organizations or private institutions contribute
significant amounts of funding to our efforts. The schools and the community that Blessings in a
Backpack offers support to are the hearth of most volunteers hours, donations, and fundraising
opportunities. The major goal of our organization is to sustain what we have accomplished to
date and continue to grow without relying primarily on fundraising and limited private donation.

With funding from the Ford Family Foundation Grant our organization would be able to use the
funds from fundraising and donations to instead add a new school to the program and purchase
equipment that is necessary to make the program more efficient.
The major activities that our organization participates in includes: grocery shopping for
the food, picking up the bread from Panera Cares and packing the bags. The process involves
grocery shopping for the food, packing the bags, organizing them into designated containers for
each school respectively, transporting the bags to the schools, and returning the bins to the
packing place. All of which is accomplished with the use of volunteer time, fuel, and the bags
and bins used. The bags that are used are donated from Meijer. Meijer is the grocery store that
our sector of Blessings in a Backpack is partnered with to shop for the groceries. Generic plastic
bags are used to transport the food to the children. The bins we use to carry out deliveries are 18gallon storage containers. The system is not strict and is performed by volunteers from the
churches that the organization is partnered with, scout groups, teachers/staff of the schools, after
school programs, students from Wayne State University and members of the community.

Youth Protection Policy

Blessings in a Backpack is mindful of minors safety in affiliation with volunteering for
our organization. We take precaution to ensure that children are safe when volunteering with
Blessings in a Backpack by enforcing that a guardian or adult (teacher, scoutmaster, parent) be
present when minors are volunteering with us. The requirement is two adults accompany two
children at all times. To protect the emotional stability of the children receiving the backpacks,
and to avoid any harsh emotions, the process of transporting the bags to the students is made
very discrete. By having the children retrieve the bags at the end of the school day Friday in a

separate room from their classmates we can insure that they are not receiving judgements from
the other children.
Other precautions made by our organization that coincide with the requirements of
Blessings in a Backpack include the policy for the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan, the youth
protection policy that is enforced at Christ Episcopal Church, our main location. Any and all
church personnel who occasionally work with or around children or youth shall be screened and
selected utilizing at least the following:
A standard application completed by the applicant that includes an acknowledgment for
the release of information to conduct background checks and the Code of Conduct,
Individual interview with the applicant, At least one Reference Check of a person or
persons outside the congregation who know the applicant, preferably who know how the
applicant interacts with children as well as Driving or Motor Vehicle records check if the
person will be transporting children or youth (Episcopal Diocese of Michigan, Diocesan
Council, 2006).

Proposed Project
The specific goals of Blessings in a Backpack are directed towards investing in new
equipment and branching the organization to include elementary schools that are in new
communities, including the East side of Dearborn. A very specific goal is to replace the
Rubbermaid 18-gallon storage containers that we use to transport the backpacks. The cheaper
brand containers the program currently has are a safety hazard and do not stack and store with
ease. The containers make accessibility to the packed bags more time consuming; once the
containers are replaced in a larger number, it will increase the speed of transporting the bags to
the schools and decreasing the number of round trips required between the schools. This will in
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turn reduce volunteer hours necessary and making it easier to effectively serve more elementary
schools in the future. Another problem we currently face with the inexpensive containers is that
they can be a hazard to volunteers. Our used containers can easily topple over and are worn
down causing them to have cracks in the plastic. If we have enough bins to keep at both the
loading and the school locations it would reduce the amount of trips taken to perform the task.
Another goal of the organization is to continue to grow so that the program can service
more elementary schools in new communities. The organization aims to add new elementary
schools allowing more food insecure families to benefit from Blessings in a Backpack. The
organization hopes to add a new school by mid-year in the 2016-2017 school year or anytime
before the end of that calendar school year. Once a new elementary school is added to the
organization, this will open the door to other resources such as the members of that specific
school and in that area of the community. With connections to the population of that community
there will be newfound opportunities for incoming volunteers, fundraising, and the ability to
spread awareness of our organization to a new sector of Michigan. The organization is beneficial
to Dearborn because it provides non-perishable food to those in poor socioeconomic conditions
as well as providing a network for those in the community that are in need. For example, when
those parents in the program reach out for other resources such as clothing, the network that
exists through Blessings in a Backpack and its affiliates can put those in need with those who can
supply them with what they request.
The national organization, Blessings in a Backpack has conducted research to test the
improvements made inside the school halls and has published statistics such as: 60% of students
do not get in trouble as much, 59% find it is easier to learn at school, and 78% of children feel
cared for by their community. The research from Blessing in a Backpack international also found

children feel they are helping their families; attendance in schools has also improved since
inception of the program (Blessings in a Backpack, 2015). These findings are evidence that the
program is reducing a major factor that interferes with elementary students success in school.
These findings are in line with comments made by Chris Burkhalter, the programs coordinator,
on the City of Dearborn television, Blessings in a Backpack Program benefits the students and
the schools by ensuring students are in a more food stable situation so that when they come to
school Monday they are well fed and ready to learn (Chris Burkhalter, Blessings in a Backpack
Program Coordinator, 9/9/15).
Blessings in a Backpack benefits the community that it is involved with by cushioning
pantries and bridging the gap between food insecurity and having secure meals each day. By
providing to an area that is suburban and bordering Detroit it combats those struggling with the
harsh socioeconomic issues of the Metro Detroit area. With less stress of where their next meal
originates, students are in a better position to learn and it eases the strain on teachers. Data
compiled from the New American Foundation illustrates the need for aid to support food
security, Of the 31 million students who received five billion school meals during the 2013-14
school year, 62-percent were free of charge, 8-percent were reduced price, and the other 30percent were paid (Hannah Emple, New American Foundation, 9/6/12). All of the children
benefitting from the Blessings in a Backpack Program are already a member of the Free and
Reduced lunch program within the elementary schools. For many of these children the meals
inside the school cafeteria are the only meals they will receive each day. With decreased food
insecurity inside the homes of American children, students grades, behavior, and concentration
to material will improve. The members of the community also benefit from the work of the
organization because it enables them to combat food insecurity and help members of their very

own community. The program coordinator, Chris Burkhalter, discussed the importance of helping
those with food insecurity in a segment on Dearborn City television, it makes everyone
involved in the program feel good as well to know that we can help support students with food
insecurity needs (Chris Burkhalter, Blessings in a Backpack Program Coordinator, 9/6/12).
The Ford Foundation aspires to make it possible for all people and communities to have
access to political, social, and economic opportunity. The mission aims to enable equitably in the
knowledge, wealth, and resources of society; and are free to achieve their full potential (Ford
Foundation, Our Mission, 1974). With the absence of food insecurity, and the opportunity to
concentrate on other aspects of life without the stress of an empty stomach, tomorrows adults
are able to reach their potential on test scores, attend school more regularly with higher
engagement, and have greater opportunity to obtain wealth and success in their future.
The students that benefit from the Blessings in a Backpack Program are in large from
West Dearborn Elementary Schools and are between the ages of 5-10 years old. The population
in West Dearborn is diverse and is one of the largest populations of Muslims in the United States
(Michigan Radio, Cwiek, 7/9/14). Many of the Muslim members of the community are first
generation Americans that fled wars in the Middle East and also typically suffer low
socioeconomic conditions. In the earlier years of the program, packed bags were separated into
halal meat and non-halal. The bags that were non-halal contained canned chicken or a pasta with
beef. The halal bags contained tuna or they were vegetarian. At this time, one-third of the bags
that were distributed contained halal meat, indicating that roughly one third of the students at that
time were Muslim.
The Impact of the Project

The very community that benefits from Blessings in a Backpack is the same population
that in turn assists the organization. Since Blessings in a Backpack has been working inside West
Dearborn the organization has been growing a network of involved community churches. As of
currently, there are four churches that are involved with our organization: Christ Episcopal, Good
Shepherd United Methodist, St. Paul Lutheran, and First United Methodist. All of these religious
institutions have offered resources such as volunteers, donations, fundraising, coordination of
programs, space for the organization, and networking within the community, Other collaborators
that Blessings in a Backpack are involved with are the 5 Dearborn Public Elementary Schools,
Panera Cares, who provide bread to the organization, as well as Meijer, the grocery store that
provides us with bags and whom we purchase the food for the backpacks from.
Those members of the community that carry out the volunteer work include students,
parents, churches, scout groups, teachers and staff of Dearborn Schools, students of Wayne State
University, book clubs, and school organizations. The Program Coordinator, Chris Burkhalter,
organizes the time slots of volunteer hours, manages the budget of the organization, designates
members of the volunteer staff to perform the required tasks, and helps with packing the bags.
Blessings in a Backpack has a Steering Committee which oversees all of the work done by our
organization. Ellis Cornell, the Vendor Liason, leads the group that picks up the food orders from
Meijer and who works with Meijer if any problems should arise. Dan and Barb Murray perform
most of the transportation to and from our collaborator Panera Cares. Other members of the
Steering Committee include school principals Ross Groover, Rita Rauch, Veronica Jakubus,
Kristin Waddell and Robert Attee. Others include Colleen Kamke, Jack Linton, Alysia Schuler,
and Marti Tamaroglio. They are involved in discussing the program, making decisions to

improve the program and provide a solution if any problems arise, tailor the menus of the bags,
oversees the budget expenditures and plans fundraising.
With less stress on where funds are coming from, our organization can utilize our
resources and mobilize the community to be directed towards more fundraising endeavours and
raising awareness of Blessings in a Backpack. With income from a grant, we can replace new
Rubbermaid bins to ensure the safety of volunteers and increase the speed of transport and make
our work more efficient. If we receive an amount of funds from the Ford Foundation we will be
able to ensure adding a new school in January, 2017. With the knowledge of earning grant funds
we can also spend less time managing the budget and use excess time to partner with other
organizations or businesses, as well as offer more differentiation in the menu of the backpacks
that we offer to the students.
Additional Information about the Organization
Blessings in a Backpack has created an environment for those in need to feel comfortable
to ask for help. The program has created a network that allows the organization to get those in
need in touch with the resources they desire. For example, if parents involved in the Blessings in
a Backpack program are in a specific need (i.e. clothes, additional food, etc.) they can go to the
schools and get in touch with our organization. From there, the network allows us to reach out to
the churches and organizations within the community that we are collaborators with, so that the
needs of said family can be met. Blessings in a Backpack has also been involved in additional
community engagements including fundraising managed by the affiliated churches. The churches
hold school supply drives at the beginning of the year; this does not involve the organization
budget and does benefit those elementary schools that Blessings in a Backpack provide for.
Budget Plan of Proposed Project

The Bins that we use to transport the bags to the schools are the highest priority for use of
grant funds. At the very least, 36 bins would replace all of the bins for Snow Elementary which
would be profoundly beneficial, as it would replace bins that are ineffective and potentially
unsafe due to poor stacking. Also, this amount of containers would eliminate a car trip each week
to pick up the empty bins for refilling. If possible, receiving enough funds to replace the old bins
for Long and DuVall Elementary would be preferred since these bins are in poor condition,
though we do have enough. For Long Elementary this would mean 10 bins and for DuVall 8 bins
making the total request of bin replacement 54 bins.
The money granted from the Ford Foundation will go into the Budget which is strictly
used to purchase the food for the backpacks. An additional contribution to the grocery funds
however, will allow us to ensure the addition of a new school to be added in January, 2017 and to
reach out to new elementary schools to get a new institution on board.
The community is involved in all aspects of Blessings in a Backpack; churches, students
of the five schools, staff, PTAs, and after school programs have all been involved in improving
our ability to fight food insecurity. Many small donations and fundraising events have been held
by other organizations to help us fight food insecurity in our community. Blessings in a
Backpack held a holiday vocal concert put on with Dearborn Public Schools in 2013 that raised
$1704. We've been beneficiaries of the Dearborn elementary schools Empty Bowls soup suppers
fundraiser for three years. In 2013 we received $1000, in 2014, $1500 and in 2015, $1200. Our
organization also benefited from a Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser put on by Good Shepherd United
Methodist church in Dearborn. In 2013, they raised $1425 for our program, In 2014, $1300, In
2015, $1400 and in 2016, $1200. The Elks Club of Dearborn raised $307 for the cause in a soup

cook-off event in 2014. A private donation from Walmart came in October 2015 in the sum of
$1,442.50.
The grant money will be used to plant a seed in a new school opening a new door to a
community which we can utilize for fundraising, volunteer time, and opportunity to spread
awareness of Blessings in a Backpack. The Program has been a success since inception
according to Dan Hartley, former principal of DuVall Elementary "We have had increased
academic performance every year since I've been here. And we started Blessings in a Backpack
my first year. So, yes, I definitely think it is one of the factors that has contributed to our
increased success. Students who are hungry aren't able to concentrate. Their mind is elsewhere.
We definitely see students, the ones that are receiving are more focused and more prepared for
school"(Dan Hartley,WHFR Radio, 2014). The grant money will enable Blessings in a Backpack
to improve access to food for a new student population thus impacting more students in the
Metro Detroit area suffering from food insecurity.

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