Our community has come together and has taken the initiative to care for those who are vulnerable and in need of support. The nonprofits in the Stamford community have connected like soldiers armored with their generosity to fight this invisible yet violent virus.

Organizations such as Fill in the Blanks and Domus have provided supplemental food support for our families during these uncertain times. The SPEF organization has taken upon itself to rally volunteers to help support the Stamford Public Schools grab and go lunch during the April school break; otherwise, these students would not have received any meals.

Domus, in particular, has rallied some of its staff to help support food and delivery to vulnerable families who are experienced food insecurity. Also, Chartwells has stepped up to ensure the food given is nutritious and liked by the students.

This Good Friday, our community sites were packed with dedicated volunteers who greeted the families with smiles while ensuring they received their meals. The COVID-19 can social distance us, but it cannot remove love for the community. Since the start of the grab and go lunch provided by Stamford Public Schools, we have had dedicated volunteers who consistently provide support. I want to thank them personally for their encouragement and modeling what community loves means.

Our community reflects what our country was built upon. The enormous level of sympathy demonstrated by the Stamford community mirrors our resiliency. Without many words, the citizens of Stamford have banned together to ensure the most vulnerable are not forgotten or isolated. “There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.”

Bianca Shinn Desras is a Stamford resident and Parent Leader (PLTI).

For the full article, click here.

Thousands of school children in Connecticut’s richest county are hungry on the weekends. Nonprofit Filling in the Blanks (FIB) has strived to fill those bellies and on a typical Friday would have free take-home meals for Saturday and Sunday available to 2,500 children — all of whom rely on free or reduced-price lunch to meet their nutritional needs while school is in session.

But March 20 was not your typical Friday: No school was in session and the organization’s co-founders/co-directors Shawnee Knight and Tina Kramer scrambled to make alternate plans so their usual weekend meal recipients in Greenwich, Norwalk, Stamford and Bedford Hills, N.Y., would have adequate food items to carry them through. “It changed minute by minute,” recounted Shawnee Knight.

She said the non-profit had begun making school deliveries earlier in the week while schools were open and arranged for other drive-up locations, including a church and childcare center Thursday and Friday as the coronavirus impact made its harsh landing. The effort resulted in providing supplemental food bags of breakfast and lunch items, fruit and snacks for 1,100 children.

“This week again we’re trying to find new ways and locations to get them out and try to confirm that those same locations are still okay to use,” Knight told Daily Voice Plus. In order to maintain social distancing, the operation is being run by the founders, along with some paid staff and a driver, but not the usual volunteers that help the energetic operation run smoothly in normal times. Knight said measures are being taken to protect everyone doing the work. “Our bags are packed and sealed and everybody is wearing gloves. We’re leaving them [the meals] in a receptacle outside the pick-up locations.”

FIB has partnered with several organizations to provide these weekend food bags at no cost to families and is committed to serving the community throughout the current COVID-19 Pandemic.

“Having multiple organizations come together to help those most affected by the COVID19 Pandemic is necessary and essential to the community,” said Knight, “Now more than ever, local families need a lift,” said Yenny Toone, Family Centers’ director of Early Childhood and partner of FIB. “With so many people out of work as a result of the COVID-19 situation, healthy food is one of those basic living necessities that is becoming increasingly difficult for people to afford. Our partnership with Filling in the Blanks allows us to provide some relief to our most vulnerable families.”

“We are thankful for the support of our partner agencies, volunteers and employees. Without them we would not have been able to coordinate deliveries to food-insecure children during this uncertain time,” added Kramer.

Their remaining challenge is getting the word out and raising money in our new reality, Knight noted. A golf outing and other charity events have been canceled amid the health crisis but funding is still necessary to run the charity and purchase food from a warehouse. “We’re running a virtual food drive now,” said Knight. “The biggest challenge is needing more donations and obviously securing locations to bring the meals and getting the word out that we have meals for the children.”

For information about the virtual food drive going on now during the coronavirus crisis, click here.

“Our goal is to get the food to the children that need it,” said Knight.

https://dailyvoiceplus.com/fairfield/schools/coronavirus-doesnt-stop-filling-in-blanks-from-feeding-fairfield-county-school-children/785458/

Filling in the Blanks (FITB), along with community partners Meals-on-Wheels (MOW) of Greenwich, Neighbor to Neighbor in Greenwich and staff from Family Centers, distributed food to local residents most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This past week these organizations came together to distribute bags of food containing breakfast items, lunch items, milk, snacks and fresh fruit to preschool children who attend Family Centers schools in Greenwich. FITB and MOW partner to provide these weekend food bags to children at no cost to families and are committed to serving the community throughout the current COVID-19 Pandemic.

“Having multiple organizations come together to help those most affected by the COVID- 19 Pandemic is necessary and essential to the community” said Shawnee Knight, FITB Co-Founder and Co-President. “We are thankful for the support of our partner agencies, volunteers and employees. Without them we would not have been able to coordinate deliveries to food insecure children during this uncertain time,” Tina Kramer, FITB Co-Founder and Co-President.

“Meals-on-Wheels is excited about our partnership with FITB to serve pre-school children in need at Family Centers. We are particularly thankful for the ability to work creatively to continue our deliveries during the coronavirus pandemic with the support of Family Centers and Neighbor to Neighbor.” Mike Goff, Meals-on-Wheels board member.

“We have not fully identified what we are dealing with and what might be the scale and scope of the ripple effect and stresses on our community. We are working with our community partners and not for profit agencies to assess what next steps might be and Neighbor to Neighbor will do its part to address any questions and concerns. We are here for the long term to serve our families in need and we are certain the numbers will grow.” – Margaret Goldberg, Neighbor to Neighbor Executive Director.

“Now more than ever, local families need a lift,” said Yenny Toone, Family Centers’ Director of Early Childhood. “With so many people out of work as a result of the COVID-19 situation, healthy food is one of those basic living necessities that is becoming increasingly difficult for people to afford. Our partnership with Filling in the Blanks allows us to provide some relief to our most vulnerable families.”

Virtual food drive taking place, to support our community and provide food support, please visit fillingintheblanks.org to make a donation or sign up or for more information.

Filling in the Blanks recently received a $15,000 grant from Fairfield County’s Community Foundation to support its Weekend Meal Program.

Filling in the Blanks works to fight childhood hunger in our local communities by providing children in need with meals on the weekends. Grants and donations to Filling in the Blanks help purchase balanced, shelf-stable food items that are packaged into individual meal bags by volunteers in their Norwalk warehouse. Those weekend meal bags are delivered each week to 2,200 children who are food-insecure at 38 schools and after-school programs in Stamford, Norwalk, and Greenwich, CT and Bedford, NY.

“This grant will help ensure that Filling in the Blanks can continue to provide food for each child enrolled in the Weekend Meal Program and to expand its reach by removing children from the waitlist, “said Tina Kramer, Co-Founder and Co-President. The organization’s other Co-Founder and Co-President, Shawnee Knight shared, “Fairfield County’s Community Foundation has not only given financial support but has also been a key partner in helping Filling in the Blanks collect data and measure our impact.”

Filling in the Blanks has delivered 171,395 meal bags to children who need them since it’s inception in 2013. A food-secure environment is created year-round through the Summer Meal Program which serves most of these same students at local summer camps and community centers.

Fairfield County’s Community Foundation promotes philanthropy as a means to create change in Fairfield County, focusing on innovative and collaborative solutions to critical issues impacting the community. Individuals, families, corporations and organizations can establish charitable funds or contribute to existing funds. The Community Foundation is in compliance with the Council on Foundations’ national standards, and has awarded $180 million in grants to nonprofits in Fairfield County and beyond. For more information, visit www.fccfoundation.org.

Filling in the Blanks works tirelessly to remove the obstacle of food insecurity for children in our local community and ease the burden on their parents or caregivers. As a result, the students receiving the weekend meal bags have improved peace of mind, ability to focus on tasks, and the ability to learn. For more information, visit: www.fillingintheblanks.org.

NORWALK — A small nonprofit is filling a big gap in the needs of area families having trouble feeding their kids.

Filling in the Blanks distributes food to children in need in Fairfield County and beyond. The group provides meals to students who receive free or reduced lunch or have parents that are a part of the Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE) population.

“They don’t qualify for free and reduced lunch, but they still need help,” said Shawnee Knight co-founder Filling In The Blanks.

Food is delivered once a week to about 1,450 students in 23 schools in Norwalk, Stamford, Greenwich and Bedford, N.Y.

The mission has grown rapidly. In 2013, when the organization formed, it served 50 children, Knight said.

Roxbury Elementary in Stamford was the first school to partner with Filling In The Blanks. Teachers there had growing concerns as students were coming to class hungry on Monday mornings. Sarah Arnold, a social worker at school, called a few food pantries in the area, but they all lacked the capacity to help. Then she heard about Filling in the Blanks.

“I don’t remember the last time a teacher came to me and said that students were coming to school on Monday morning starving,” Arnold said. “That has stopped, and the reason it’s noticeable is because five years ago, I was hearing that all the time.”

Staying true to its mission, Filling in the Blanks asks school leaders to store food and distribute it to students on Fridays before they leave for the weekend.

“There’s not a consistent food source” for many families, Knight said. “They’re not sure where their next meal is coming from.”

She said they’re faced with questions like, “Do I pay to keep the lights on, do I pay to put food on the table, do I pay for the health insurance — and they’re forced to make a choice sometimes.”

According to Feeding America, 31,540 (or 14 percent) of children are food insecure in Fairfield County. More than 430,000 Connecticut residents are food insecure and it would take almost $245 million to meet the population’s needs, according to Feeding America.

Knight co-founded the nonprofit with Tina Kramer after they saw a need for this kind of service. It started with just a few staff members, working out of a house in New Canaan. Five years later, Filling In The Blanks has three staff, 1,000 volunteers (60 percent of them children) and a warehouse that can process 4,000 bags of food in five hours.

Families receive letters from participating schools at the beginning of the year that ask if they need the service. Roxbury Elementary School needs between 130 and 150 bags of food per week, up from 65 when the partnership started five years ago.

Each student can expect a range of different foods, including soup, pasta, fruits, granola bars, mashed potatoes and other items. Each week there’s something different, Arnold said. If families have children in need that go to other schools, Filling In The Blanks will give the family multiple bags.

One mother who has two children at Maritime Odyssey Preschool in Norwalk said that before Filling In The Blanks, she was struggling to make ends meet. She has a 4-year-old and a 6-year-old.

“I was struggling because I don’t have a stable job,” she said. “It helps me because I don’t spend a lot of money buying food and I have something extra in the fridge.”

She works part time and makes $150 to $180 per week. She’s a single mother working at a fish market and said that now, “At least we have lunch and dinner every day.”

Donald Austin, executive director at Maritime Odyssey Preschool, said school leaders formed a partnership with Filling In The Blanks, hoping it would help students do better in school.

“It takes a village to raise a child and if the child is hungry at home or mom and dad is struggling, if we can take the stress off the family a little bit, the child will perform better here,” Austin said.

On Friday mornings, Arnold distributes bags of food after Roxbury’s students are finished with breakfast.

She said students aren’t embarrassed when they pick up their bags because “It’s a privilege to be in the backpack club.”

She and other school leaders explain to students at the beginning of the school year that people donate their precious time and money to help their fellow classmates who are in need. Arnold said she explains volunteers pack and transport the food to students, which is a lengthy process.

When students understand that ample preparation is involved, they respond better than if it wasn’t prefaced that way, Arnold said.

One of the unexpected but positive reverberations of the partnership is it gives Arnold another point of contact with parents.

For example, she might tell parents about Filling In The Blanks’ service and they may disclose that they are struggling with something else. “It’s a way to get the conversation started with a family that might otherwise be too shy or reluctant to speak up,” Arnold said.

As the holidays approach, Filling In The Blanks is preparing to distribute holiday backpacks. In December, they fill backpacks with pancake mix, syrup, hats, gloves, water bottles, toothbrushes and toothpaste, books, toys and other items.

Each backpack costs $40 and donations are accepted on the Filling In The Blanks website, fillingintheblanks.org.

As the organization grows, Knight and Kramer said they’re looking for support form of volunteers or food or monetary donations, no matter how big or small. The nonprofit doesn’t receive funding from state or federal organizations and relies solely on fundraisers, volunteers and monetary donations.

In May, the organization hosts a golf outing in nearby Bedford, N.Y.

Its most recent fundraiser was a culinary event in New Canaan. Its next event is a luncheon and fashion show on Nov. 15 at Richards, a Mitchell store in Greenwich. The event requires an RSVP and is from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 359 Greenwich Ave.

“We would like the community to know more about us because I think we’re not very well known in the community,” said Kramer. “We have a good presence in New Canaan because that’s where we live and started.”

Tell us, how did you hear about Filling in the Blanks?

My children’s school, Greenwich Country Day, is working with Filling in the Blanks and encouraging students (and parents!) to get involved and help out. Jen Donnalley runs the school’s community service program, which provides our children with so many meaningful opportunities. (Sometimes she also includes parents and if I’m really lucky, my kids will LET me join!) Jen and the school have done an excellent job at making community service feel organic and letting the kids experience the positive ‘mojo’ that comes from giving back. It’s such a “win-win”.  

Why did FITB’s mission resonate with you? What motivated you to get involved with FITB?

I love the idea of being to help people in my own backyard. So often, the charities I’ve been involved in are big and ‘inaccessible”. Filling in the Blanks is the exact opposite, which feels far more meaningful to me.

How important is it for you to get your kids involved? 

I think volunteering and giving back is so important, particularly for kids. It allows them to see the world through a different lens and hopefully, to develop empathy and a sense that they can make a difference. 

Why did your family pick to pack holiday backpacks for the Boys and Girls Club? 

The holidays are such a special time for our family, and we are fortunate to not have to worry about whether the kids will get gifts. So many people, right here in Greenwich, aren’t so lucky. So making these backpacks feels real and meaningful. We live a half a mile away from the Boys and Girls Club, and my children have been going there since they were toddlers. It’s such a great organization that helps local families, which makes this project even more special. 

What would you like to see in the future for your community/the areas that FIB serves? 

Local, tangible projects make so much sense for helping our kids to actually feel like they are making a difference. And it’s this feeling that helps kids want to participate, and want to continue participating as they get older. To me, the more tangible the project, the more effective it is at making community service an ongoing part of people’s lives. 

Helping to end childhood hunger in our global society is easy thanks to our friends and partners at WATM, whose mission is to end hunger related suffering one nutritious meal at a time.

WATM is an eco-conscious and kindness enthusiast company whose mission is to offer sustainable products that people love, while at the same time promoting positive movements in society every day. WATM stands for “we are the movement”, and the company supports four main causes: nature, health, education, and hunger. Each cause has its own stylish insulated water bottle!

Filling in the Blanks and WATM have partnered up to make the stand against hunger that much easier! Simply mention “Filling in the Blanks” when purchasing a stand against hunger WATM and a weeks worth of food will be provided to a child in need. One bottle = one child whose life is positively impacted!

#ENDHUNGER #WATM

Bankwell has donated $15,000 to Filling in the Blanks to benefit the purchase of a new delivery truck which will grant the organization to increase the amount of weekend meals they can deliver to children in need who are eligible for the free or reduced lunch program in our local communities.

The new truck has allowed Filling in the Blanks to immediately move 100 kids from their waitlist to now receive weekend meals and additional 400 are expected to be moved from the waitlist this fall. The new truck will also create a more efficient delivery process which will grant FITB to offer the program beyond those on the waitlist and expand their weekly reach to hungry children in local communities.

“Bankwell has been an incredible community partner, not only with their financial support but the time that they invest in our organization,” said Tina Kramer, Co-Founder at Filling in the Blanks. “We are proud to have Bankwell displayed alongside us on the truck.”

Bankwell is a community bank that serves the banking and lending needs of residents and businesses throughout Fairfield and New Haven counties. More about Bankwell can be found at www.mybankwell.com .

New Canaan residents, Shawnee Knight and Tina Kramer, founded Filling in the Blanks in 2013 to provide children qualifying for free or reduced lunch with food on the weekends. The program serves local schools throughout Stamford, Norwalk, Greenwich and Bedford Hills (Pre-K through High School) and runs throughout the year, serving children at local camps over the summer months. To volunteer or donate to the organization, interested parties can visit www.fillingintheblanks.org.