1000 Backpacks

My name is Rachel Annette Helson, and this is me…

…I’m 21 years old, and I live in Los Angeles.

In May, I decided that I wanted to do this fundraiser. I was having breakfast with my mom and this man…

His name is Stan Curtis, and he’s an old friend of the family.

Stan has founded two amazing national non-profit organizations USA Harvest (www.usaharvest.com) and Blessings in a Backpack (www.blessingsinabackpack.org) and fed Americans for 23 years through these two organizations.

I had wanted to get involved with Blessings in a Backpack for a while, and at breakfast, Stan, my mom Jan and I were brainstorming ideas about what I could do to help…

…Stan mentioned that he wanted a local news channel to do a telethon to benefit Blessings.  That idea got me thinking, “Why not go global?” We could do a telethon for the Internet.

Stan said, “Go do it.”

So, I laid out the ground plans for this fundraiser. I decided it would be a combination of blog entries, video blogs, celebrity PSAs and video segments from 4 different schools that are currently using the Blessings in a Backpack program.

The first thing to do was film the school segments so I asked my friend and one of my favorite Hollywood directors John Hindman if he would help me…

…Luckily, he said yes, and the two of us traveled from Los Angeles to Kentucky to Indiana to New York City filming segments at Normandie Elementary, Roosevelt Perry, The Children’s Academy, and P.S. 15.

So, you’ll see these videos released each week along with an interview from Stan and lots of other entries about the wonderful organization.

Also, you can check in frequently to see PSAs from celebrities like Hilary Duff, Miley Cyrus and Sammy Hagar!

So, please enjoy! Feel free to browse around and learn about Blessings in a Backpack!

Our NOVEMBER goal is to raise $80,000 to fill 1,000 BACKPACKS. It’s a very doable number, but we need your help. November 1st though the 30th, you will be able to donate through Text2Give, “Text Backpack to 85944 to donate $10 to Blessings in a Backpack. Please remember to reply “Yes” to confirm your gift. Thank you!” My goal is to feed as many children throughout the United States as possible for the school year.

Please start following me on this blog as well as on twitter (www.twitter.com/RachelAHelson,) and show your support by tweeting and reposting so that we can feed as many kids as possible!

Thanks for reading, check in again tomorrow, and have a gorgeous day!

Much love,

Rachel

1000 Backpacks 2010

HELP FEED HUNGRY CHILDREN BY TWEETING AND REPOSTING!

Dear Person Reading this Entry,

Did you know that over 62% of American school children are being fed during the week by our federal government? Most of these children have little to no food to eat on the weekend.

I don’t know about you, but I grew up wondering, “What will I eat today?” Not, “Will I eat today?” 

With the Blessings in a Backpack program, these kids have a better chance of focusing and actually learning something in school because they don’t have to worry about how they will find dinner. I remember having a hard time focusing toward the end of the school day because I hadn’t eaten in a couple of hours. As soon as the bell rang, I rushed across the street to Burger’s Market to get an after school snack so that I could have energy to finish all my homework. I can’t imagine how hard it would be to focus if I didn’t have enough food to eat. Of course, I would be cranky and uninterested in learning. 

I was one of the lucky ones. Kids across the country are struggling with this issue everyday. No wonder test scores have hit an all time low, kids don’t have enough food to eat, and because they can’t eat, they can’t learn. It’s common sense.

Starting November 1st, you will see blog entries, video segment, photos and celebrities speaking out about the Blessings in a Backpack program. Our NOVEMBER goal is to raise $80,000 to fill 1,000 BACKPACKS. It’s a very doable number, but we need your help.

November 1st though the 30th, you will be able to donate through Text2Give, “Text Backpack to 85944 to donate $10 to Blessings in a Backpack. Please remember to reply “Yes” to confirm your gift. Thank you!” or online at www.blessingsinabackpack.org.  My goal is to feed as many children throughout the United States as possible for the school year. 

Funds raised from the CLICK-A-THON can be tracked at www.rachelannettehelson.com AND www.blessingsinabackpack.org

Please start following me on this blog as well as on twitter (www.twitter.com/RachelAHelson,) and show your support by tweeting and reposting so that we can feed as many kids as possible!

Thanks for reading, check in again tomorrow, and have a gorgeous day!

xoR

1000 Backpacks 2010

Happy September, everyone!

I have some very exciting news: For the month of November, I’m going to be holding a fundraiser for a wonderful organization called Blessings in a Backpack to coincide with the release of my book Big Hearted People™.

In 2004, a very good friend of mine, Stan Curtis, started the program that sends food home on the weekends with public school kids who otherwise wouldn’t have any food. The program is now covering over 25,000 students, but there is still a lot of work to be done – that’s where you come in.

Our goal is to feed an additional thousand kids next year! It only takes $80 to feed a child through the program for an entire school year.

So, starting November 1st I’ll start posting videos of schools that have benefited from this amazing program and you’ll get to hear directly from some of the kids who receive food, as well as from celebrities that have sponsored some of the schools across the country.

The future is in our hands – let’s make every dollar count!