*****This is a repost of the January 2015 Comments for a Cause post — the original is floating around in cyberspace someplace so hopefully this one will stick around.  Thanks for being patient with the new design.

How can it possibly be January already?  And 2015???  Where did 2014 go?  I honestly can not believe that it is 2015 already and that It’s Just Life will be 7 years old in March.  I think we will need to have a party, don’t you?

But back to the real reason for this post.  In December I chose Doctors Without Borders as the Comments for a Cause mainly because it was the cause that my family chose for their annual Christmas Charity.  We have done this for years and it is an amazing way to help us focus on others during the holiday season and not so much on gifts for each other.  If you want to read more about this great organization click here to go to a separate post.We had an amazing month for comments and with the money that Chris and I had designated for the family donation a total of $500 was sent off to help Doctors Without Borders with their work all over the world. Thank YOU to each of you who commented during the month.

I stumbled across Blessings in a Backpack awhile ago and had it written down in my “future Comments for a Cause” file and decided to start the new year off right by choosing them to be our January 2015 recipient.  Their mission is simple:

Blessings in a Backpack provides food for elementary school children across America who might otherwise have little or no food to eat over the weekend.

Their mission is admirable and one that I think everyone can embrace. Children can learn and perform better when they have full tummies and in my humble opinion EVERY child deserves to have their basic needs met.  One of these basic needs is an adequate amount of food and too often that does not happen.  Blessings in a Backpack is striving to make this a reality in the United States.

Image from www.blessingsinabackpack.org

Please read more about what they do as they share on their website which can be found at Blessings In a Backpack.

Hunger Doesn’t Take Weekends Off

What Do We Do?

Blessings in a Backpack provides elementary schoolchildren who are on the federal Free and Reduced Price Meal Program with a backpack of food to take home for 38 weekends during the school year. Backpack food includes easy-to-prepare, ready-to-eat foods, like granola bars, juice boxes, mac and cheese, and oatmeal.

Why Do We Do It?

There are 20+ million children in this country who are at risk of hunger. The consequences of hunger are much more than a growling stomach. Poor nutrition can result in a weaker immune system, increased hospitalization, lower IQ, shorter attention spans, and lower academic achievement. Children are fed during the school week by federal government programs, but we want to make sure they’re getting nutritional meals over the weekend, too.

Blessings in a Backpack is a 501 C (3) non-profit organization currently feeding over 72,000 children in 700 schools in 44 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The program is a hybrid of private sector funding and public partnership carried out in public schools. We are feeding the future of America, one school at a time.

How Much Does it Cost?

$80 – $100 feeds one child on the weekends for one 38 week school year through the Blessings in a Backpack program. 50 kids at $80 is $4,000 to get started. 100% of money raised to fund a school goes to feeding that school.

The Results: Nourished Kids Ready to Learn

Students who participate in the Blessings in a Backpack program show marked improvement in school attendance, test scores, behavior, and health. Food is an essential building block, and in this case truly is a blessing, especially to a hungry child! Visit the Get Involved section of our site to find out the various ways in which you can help Blessings in a Backpack feed more children.

What a great program and one I think everyone can get behind.  Please feel free to share with your friends and have everyone come on over to It’s Just Life to share in the comment love. For every comment left on any blog post during January (any post–not just posts written in January) Chris and I will donate 50 cents to help fund Blessings in a Backpack.  The total will be tallied up and revealed on February 1st so make sure you come back then to check out the new cause and see he results.

I am afraid that some of my faithful followers have fallen by the wayside in my blog transfer so please make sure you add my new address to your RSS feed or sign up to receive emails when I post.  All this can be accessed on the right hand side of the blog .  Or just type in www.itsjustlife.me and you can find me there.  Thanks for sticking with me and don’t forget to comment often in January.  The kids are counting on you.