Maroun School-Wide Project Generates 150 Blizzard Bags

December 27, 2013 Submitted article

The winter season has arrived and with it brings cold temperatures, unseasonable conditions, and for more than 500 senior citizens in the county it could also mean not getting a healthy home-delivered meal through Oswego County Opportunities’ Meals-On-Wheels program.

Leanne Gladle, Ethan Bruno and the entire third grade at Michael A. Maroun Elementary School packed ‘Blizzard Bags’ full of shelf-stable food items for seniors in the local community. Students and staff donated non-perishable food items for a building-wide project to benefit seniors that receive meal deliveries through Oswego County Opportunities’ Meals on Wheels program. The bags are for seniors to keep on hand during the winter months in case daily deliveries are unable to take place because of inclement weather and driving conditions.
Leanne Gladle, Ethan Bruno and the entire third grade at Michael A. Maroun Elementary School packed ‘Blizzard Bags’ full of shelf-stable food items for seniors in the local community. Students and staff donated non-perishable food items for a building-wide project to benefit seniors that receive meal deliveries through Oswego County Opportunities’ Meals on Wheels program. The bags are for seniors to keep on hand during the winter months in case daily deliveries are unable to take place because of inclement weather and driving conditions.

Students and staff at Michael A. Maroun Elementary School knew there was something they could do to help the senior citizens in Oswego County this winter and they organized a building-wide ‘Blizzard Bag’ project.

Donations poured in for shelf-stable items such as oatmeal, cereal bars, instant soup packets, packaged crackers and cookies, juice boxes, hot cocoa mix, tea bags, and hard candies.

In addition to ‘people’ food, the school also collected pet food donations for the senior citizens’ furry friends.

More than 150 ‘Blizzard Bags’ were created by the MAM students and each grade level played a special part in the project – decorating paper bags, creating personalized greeting cards, crafting pet bags, and filling each bag with the collected items.

Gabriella Dates, a second grade student at Michael A. Maroun Elementary School decorates a snowman for one of the 150 non-perishable food item ‘Blizzard Bags’ to benefit the Meals on Wheels program through Oswego County Opportunities.
Gabriella Dates, a second grade student at Michael A. Maroun Elementary School decorates a snowman for one of the 150 non-perishable food item ‘Blizzard Bags’ to benefit the Meals on Wheels program through Oswego County Opportunities.

Impressed by each person’s support for the project and the building-wide collaboration, MAM Principal Mary Stanton said on ‘Blizzard Bag’ packing day, “I’m so proud of how well our school worked together and how much we think about others in our community.”

Oswego County Opportunities Senior Nutrition Services delivers approximately 500 meals each day, Monday through Friday, to seniors in Oswego County and also feeds approximately 150 seniors at their various Dining and Activities Centers in the county.

Inclement weather sometimes makes it difficult for drivers to deliver meals, the ‘Blizzard Bags’ provide seniors with a nutritious and easy-to-prepare meal option should their driver be unable to deliver a meal.

OCB Volunteer Coordinator Christine Parks joined the students on the day that they filled the bags and was overjoyed at the support from the students and staff at MAM to help the senior citizens in their own community and indicated that they bags will be distributed to seniors in early January.

Logan Galle and Breannah Demo show off the cards they created, which will be distributed to local senior citizens during the winter season. The pair and their classmates at Michael A. Maroun Elementary School created the cards.
Logan Galle and Breannah Demo show off the cards they created, which will be distributed to local senior citizens during the winter season. The pair and their classmates at Michael A. Maroun Elementary School created the cards.

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