About
About us
Our Beginnings
It all began when Ms. Gwen Byrd received a call from a young student in North Monroe County. He was going around his neighborhood asking for food over the weekend. He was in need and reached out to his community for support.
From that one phone call, Ms. Gwen began doing the research and realized there was a certain need for helping feed students over the weekends. While doing her research and contacting organizations around Middle Georgia Ms Gwen contacted Tabernacle Baptist Church, which was also interested in starting a food ministry. Backpack Buddies officially kicked off in February 2011, with the support of the Monroe County School System.
Vision
Our vision is to be able to service these children year round through our normal school week operation and also be able to provide bags of food for these children over the summer months when the children do not have access to the Free and Reduced lunch program offered in the schools.
Drive
We do this because research shows that hungry children have poorer mental and physical health, suffer with more behavioral disorders and are less prepared to learn when they are in school. Hunger is an increasing epidemic in our community and most residents are unaware.
Result
The Backpack Buddies program is essential to help relieve hunger in Monroe County schools, which in turn will improve grades, health, school attendance and self-esteem in these children. In the end, producing a healthier learning environment and community for everyone involved.
New Leadership
Since Ms. Byrd’s retirement in the Spring of 2021, Dr. Jessica W. Evans has continued the program. Currently, the program supports between 750-1000 students per month.
Donation Items
In order to keep Monroe County Backpack Buddies alive, we require donations, volunteers, and supplies from the community. Via the link below, you can learn how to donate a monetary amount, supplies, or your time to support the cause of the Monroe County Backpack Buddies.
Upcoming Events
Throughout the month we will have numerous events planned. From packing bags to transporting supplies, our calendar is full of volunteer opportunities in the Forsyth and Middle Georgia Area.
Gifted by the 2019 Leadership Monroe Class
Leadership Monroe chose to help the cause of Backpack Buddies for its 2019 Class project. When initially learning that a single individual, Gwen Byrd, was undertaking the entire project singlehandedly, they decided to brainstorms ways in which to help streamline some of the tasks involved with keeping the program running. They decided that a website would be an invaluable tool to streamline communications, donations, and various other tasks the program undertakes on a daily basis. The 2019 Leadership Monroe Class gifted the website to the Monroe County Board of Education in the fall of 2019.
