How to Help

How to Help

         The Buddy Bag Program began in 2017 as an outreach mission of the Crown Point First United Methodist Church. By 2020 the program had outgrown the space and budget of the church. So, Community Help Network, Inc. was formed to encompass the program and develop other programs to help serve South Lake County communities.

            Each Buddy Bag consists of breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for two days. Extra items are added during longer breaks. The bags are provided to students who qualify for the federal free lunch program. We have opportunities for individuals, companies, churches, service groups and others to help feed these food-insecure students, including several volunteer opportunities. Volunteers use www.signupgenius.com to let us know when and for what they can help.

To sign up to volunteer through Sign Up Genius, volunteers will need to follow these steps:

  1. On your computer/phone search browser type “Sign Up Genius”
  2. Scroll to bottom of page and Click on “Find a Sign Up”
  3. In the “Search for a sign up by sign up creator’s email” space type in communityhelpnetwork2020@gmail.com then check “I am not a robot” then click “Search”
  4. This will take you to the Community Help Network Sign Up page where volunteers can choose to sign up to pack bags or deliver bags
  5. When the volunteer has chosen the date he/she would like to volunteer, click the blue Sign Up button that corresponds to the date and then click “Submit and Sign Up” at the bottom of the page.
  6. Volunteers will need to enter their first name, last name and email address to confirm their sign up

             A Food Drive is an excellent way to support the Buddy Bag Program. The following is a list of specific items that we provide in each Buddy Bag.

Canned Pasta Dishes such as SpaghettiOs

Ramen Noodles

Cheesy Mac/ Mac n Cheese Pouches

Lipton’s Cup of Soup

Small boxes of cold cereal

Instant Oatmeal

Fruit Snacks

Individually Packaged Salty Snacks

Individually Packaged Sweet Snacks

Pudding Cups

Fruit Cups

Microwave Popcorn

 

12 Week Sponsorship Program

            The average cost of each Buddy Bag is $4. We are introducing our “12 Week Sponsorship Program” for those who would like to sponsor a student (or students) for a 12-week period, which is approximately one third of the school year.

            For $48 you can assure that one of the over 900 food insecure students that we serve, will have enough to eat for the weekend for twelve weeks. That is roughly ten cups of Starbucks’ coffee, less than one cup per week.