Dare to Care Gala

Lem and I were invited to be a part of Dare to Care Alaska's Annual Gala. I served as a greeter during the event and helped to supervise the silent auction while Lem played the role of "spotter" during the live auction. He even got to use a light saber looking light wand, which was a real treat to a man who grew up eating, sleeping and breathing Star Wars. We had the chance to enjoy some delicious food and make some lifelong friends all while supporting and organization that is doing important work for children in our community.

This Gala was a fabulous event with a lively crowd that was so generous and so enthusiastic in their giving and support of this essential program. The items donated for the silent auction were so fun and creative and it was great to see the support of local businesses and the community. The live auction items were incredible, several raising several thousand dollars on their own to support the work of Dare to Care, feeding our hungry children. Dare to Care, Inc. is dedicated to ensuring that no child goes hungry in our schools. Dare to Care facilitates private, corporate, and individual funding to provide breakfast and lunch to children-in-need identified by school personnel.

Dare to Care Dare to Care was developed to provide food to children in need within our schools. Dare to Care is not intended to replace federal free and reduced-fee meal programs, but rather to help those children who for various reasons are failing to receive those benefits and, therefore, are not eating. Some students may qualify for reduced-fee meals but do not have the $0.30 for breakfast or the $0.40 for lunch required under that program. Other children may be abused or neglected. Sadly, some abusers withhold food as a means of control. Alaska is number one in the nation for reported cases of child abuse and neglect.

Teachers, nurses, counselors, principals and cafeteria managers identify students based on their chronic hunger, their lack of a bag lunch, or their inability to charge a meal due to an already existing excessive charge balance. School staff members notify Dare to Care of the need in their school, and Dare provides the school with funds for food accounts to be set up in the names of those students identified. The accounts are monitored and replenished as needed. Some students may need help for a week – others may need help for months or even the whole school year. Although there are other programs which provide meals to children-in-need, these programs are before and after school and do not provide meals during the school day. Another concern is that these other programs are not offered at all schools.

Our schools are maxed out financially and it is not their responsibility to “feed” our children. It’s their job to “educate” them. But how can we expect children to learn when they are fighting hunger knots in their stomachs and the consuming thoughts of where their next meal will come from? Dare to Care wants to help ensure these children have access to food and take away at least one barrier to their education. The federal government has developed the national slogan “No Child Left Behind” in terms of educating our children. Dare to Care’s slogan is “No Child Goes Hungry.” They are currently feeding 2,500 children in multiple school districts. They hope to grow even more this year. Their goal is to ensure that “No Child Goes Hungry” in all of Alaska.

For more information about Dare to Care, or to help support their cause, visit their website at www.daretocare-alaska.com