North Carolina Central University News September 5, 2014 School of Education Plans Run to Fill Backpacks Dr. Cheresa Clemons, assistant professor of education at North Carolina Central University, understands the impact of hunger on a child trying to learn. A teacher for many years, she saw firsthand the struggles of hungry students. After watching a news special on hunger in America, Clemons decided to take action and organize an event to help feed school-age children in Durham. She found the perfect partner in the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle. For more than 25 years Inter-Faith has worked to provide hunger relief in seven counties in and around the Triangle. Its Backpack Buddies program furnishes weekend meals to hungry children during the school year. At the end of each week, students receive a backpack containing six balanced meals and two snacks. For many students, these weekend meals are the only food they will eat between Friday afternoon and Monday morning when they return to school. When Clemons contacted the organization with the idea of hosting a 5K Run on the NCCU campus to support the BackPack Buddies program, Interfaith not only welcomed the support, but invited Clemons to serve on its board of directors. The first 5K took place in September 2013 and raised more than $5,000, with more than 300 participants and 100 volunteers. "A 5K is different for our campus," said Clemons. "We have walks all the time, but this is the first true race for NCCU. It lets us engage a diverse group of people." Clemons and the NCCU School of Education will hold the second annual 5K BackPack Buddies Race at 9 a.m. on Sept. 27 on the NCCU campus. School of Education faculty, staff and majors are responsible for recruiting race participants and promoting the event. As an NCCU professor, Clemons is preparing the next generation of teachers, emphasizing both diversity and pedagogy - the method and practice of teaching. "I teach students how to integrate art, music, drama, dance and healthful living into their classrooms," she said. "I also want them to understand the roles they will have to fill as teachers. They have to be nurses, counselors, advocates and fundraisers. This 5K provides an opportunity for students to practice these roles." It helps, Clemons said, that most of her students will begin student-teaching in classrooms throughout Durham the following semester. "A lot of our students can remember growing up and sometimes going without a meal; they know the story, they have lived it," she said. "The flip side is some students have never had to miss a meal. Field experience and student teaching makes hunger a reality for all of our students, regardless of their background." One school that benefits from the program is NCCU's neighbor, Fayetteville Street Elementary School, where 99 percent of students are from families whose economic status allows them to qualify for free or reduced lunch. School principal Arrica DuBose said Backpack Buddies is one of many community supports that are needed to help students succeed. "The reality is that no one can think when they are hungry," said DuBose. "Not a hungry adult or a hungry child." Three years ago, DuBose came to Fayetteville Street Elementary with one goal in mind: To create a high-quality educational setting where teachers and staff would be happy to enroll their own children. And she opens each of her staff meetings with that exact question: Would you send your child to Fayetteville Street Elementary? Over time, she said, more and more are responding, "Yes." "We have to accept the reality that our community has certain challenges, but I believe that your address does not determine your destination," said DuBose, who with her staff will participate in the 5K race. Clemons said she hopes to raise $10,000 this year for the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle BackPack Buddies program. To participate in the race, visit https://www.sportoften.com/events/eventDetails.cfm?pEventId=13051 and to learn more about the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle BackPack Buddies program visit http://foodshuttle.org/ SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-702-5854 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children. Register now http://www.hbculibraries.org/html/2014meeting-form.html for the October 26-28, 2014 HBCU Library Alliance 6th Membership Meeting in Atlanta GA!