Backpack Program | PDXKnitterati

Monday, January 16th, is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the United States. How will you be spending it? Do you get the day off? I’ll be at a service workday for the Backpack Lunch Program. The program provides weekend lunches for children who are at risk of hunger on the weekends, when no school lunch is available. If you’re in PDX and looking for something to do, come and help us pack lunch sacks for the kids we serve at Woodlawn and King Schools. After packing lunches, there’s a short program with folk singing and honoring Dr. King. The Day Old Pastries, my music group, will be leading the singing, so I’ll be there with guitar in hand. Last year we packed about 580 weekend lunch sacks for kids at risk of hunger — just about equal to a month’s sacks that we need for the two schools. The event is at Woodlawn United Methodist Church, NE 15th and Dekum Street, from 1-3 p.m. Hope to see you there!

(backpack logo copyright Jill Penney)

So what’s up, knit-wise? I’m working on a little project. Yesterday Lorajean dropped off these colors, and I’ll be picking one for this project. I’ve already knitted a sample with some yarn I had here, so I know where this is going. I love it when the knitting cooperates with the vision the first time around…

But there hasn’t been much knitting this last week!

Last Monday I participated in a service day for the Backpack Program. We packed 420 weekend lunch bags, which means 840 lunches. This program provides lunches for low-income children who are at risk for hunger. The program began in the fall of 2008, serving 10 children, and quickly grew to 30. It now serves 60 children, and the current goal is to serve 100 children for the entire school year. It’s a cooperative effort of four local United Methodist churches, and has grown to include community volunteers and school groups.

I love that people of all ages volunteer for this program.

The Day Old Pastries led some singing after the lunch packing. We’re a group of friends that like to play and sing together, 6 guitarists and a mandolin player. Occasionally a guitar gets swapped for an accordian! We were all acoustic that day (no amps, no mics), and it was folkie fun. I recorded it with my Zoom H2. (This little stereo digital recorder is fabulous; it’s easy to use and works well.)

Down by the Riverside

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

Wade in the Water

I’ll Fly Away

Blowin’ in the Wind

The week blew past, and DH celebrated a significant birthday. Happy birthday, Sweetie!