January marks School Board Recognition Month
In 2006, Harry McMillan read an article about a food for kids program in the Wall Street Journal. He felt so drawn to the program that he shared it with members of his church, hoping to begin a local chapter to provide food in bags for schoolchildren in need to take home for weekend snacks and meals. Many people within the church came forward to aid the endeavor. Soon thereafter, applications and plans were made to get started, including preparing a storage room for the food at the church. Ken Blake, Amanda Blake, and Reid Mc-Cullough addressed the repairs and painting needs for storage. Patty Boerstler helped organize. Myra Fadely kept track of inventory and later coordinated the weekly bagging of food items. Several church and local area men helped retrieve the food from the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma in Tulsa, while others and the Presbyterian youth helped unload the food items. Together, they named the program “Harry’s Blessings in a Backpack”.
While speaking with the program’s current Director, Marilyn Darrough, she mentioned the numerous contributions of the late, community-beloved Myra Fadely. She explained that Myra served as a co-director in many ways. She organized and coordinated the group of around a dozen local church ladies who meet at the Presbyterian Church each Thursday morning for Bible study, fellowship, coffee, and to pack the bags. Those ladies are best known as the Thursday Backpack Ladies group. Myra also kept interactions cheerful and God-centered, ensured everyone felt loved and understood their importance, and loved all children as if they were her own children or grandchildren. Director Darrough and the Thursday Backpack Ladies hope to pay tribute to her legacy of love and selfless dedication by sharing the program’s purpose and successes with the community and raising awareness and additional donations in her honor.
In fact, donations play the most important role of the program. Without monetary donations and grants, providing food for the 165 youngsters currently served would not be possible. Each food bag costs around $8 and includes around eleven to twelve food items each week: fruit, canned entrees such as soup or ravioli, peanut butter crackers, cereal, granola bars, nuts, juice, shelf- See Back Packs, Page Three
courtesy photo stable milk, pudding, and others.
In a nod to donors, Director Darrough said, “We wish to express our heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to Stillwater Milling Company and Harley Davidson of Stillwater for providing “Kickin’ Hunger for Kids” grants of between $4,000 and $8,000 each year, to our Bristow Walmart for providing us with past grants, to Williams Grocery for donations, to the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma for allowing us to purchase reduced priced foods and be able to feed more kids, to Bristow Area Social Services with whom we work closely to share resources, to the First Church of God for sack and monetary donations from the proceeds of their clothing room, and to the community and local churches for monetary donations. Without everyone’s contributions, we would be unable to ensure our community’s children possess something to eat. Finally, we wish to thank our own Presbyterian Church for the outpouring of support in ensuring this food blessing to continue.”
Finally, Director Darrough wishes to thank the many volunteers who also make the program possible. Members of Thursday Backpack Ladies include Paulette Womack, Mary D. Collins, Myra Fadely, Marilyn Darrough, Ninon Haley, Myra Kemp, Dorothy Livingston, Suzy Estill, Marie Womack, Juanita Thomas, Kathy Mattox, Jennifer Lupp, Lois McMillan, Martha Miller, Irmgard Runyon, Carolyn Webb, Hannah Darrough, Natalie Williams, Betty Smith, Dorothy Word, and many others. Todd Herman, Ralph Barnett, Ken Blake, and Malcolm Darrough pick up food from the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma for the program as well. Additionally, the program is thankful to the counselors at Edison and Collins Elementary Schools for their assistance in identifying children in need and helping to get the food bags to them. Finally, five dedicated individuals have served with the program since its inception: Myra Fadely, Myra Kemp, Patty Boerstler, and Harry and Lois McMillan.
To learn more about the program or to donate, please contact Director Darrough at 918-625-1812 or mail a check or money order to Harry’s Blessings in a Backpack Program c/o Bristow Presbyterian Church P.O. Box 805 Bristow, OK 74010 To donate in honor of Myra Fadely, send a check with notation of her name on the memo line or include a note