ISBVI Students and Staff Volunteer as Part of the Million Meal Marathon

By: Seth Johnson

A group of people wearing blue hairnets and blue shirts are gathered around tables, seemingly participating in a food packaging event. They are working with various items on the tables, such as plastic containers and measuring cups. In the background, there are rows of empty seats, indicating this is taking place in a large venue like a gymnasium or auditorium. There are also yellow balloons and a banner that reads "Fighting Hunger at Home." A cardboard box is open on the table, and some papers are scattered nearby. On Wednesday, Feb. 5, a group of 18 high school students and 12 staff members from Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ISBVI) volunteered their time as part of the Million Meal Marathon, helping to feed Hoosiers in need. To document this adventure, IBCF Communications Manager Seth Johnson also joined the group, even helping to pack meals with them on the floor of Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Serving alongside several other groups at the event in downtown Indianapolis, the team of ISBVI students and staff worked together in an efficient, assembly line-like manner to prepare meal packets for the Million Meal Movement. Over the course of their two-hour shift, the group of ISBVI volunteers collectively prepared and packaged hundreds of meal packets to be given to those in need.

“A lot of times, I think people think, ‘Ah, somebody who’s blind or has a disability…they’re not giving back. They’re taking things.’ And that’s not the case,” ISBVI Superintendent James Michaels told FOX59 reporter Sherman Burdette. “People who are blind and people with disabilities give back. We are giving as well. And we want to be a part of the community just like anybody else.”

The photo shows an event where people are gathered in what appears to be a large indoor venue with tiered seating in the background. The focus is on two men in the foreground, both wearing blue hairnets and one also wearing a face mask. They are working together at a table, with one man operating a sealing machine, possibly for packaging food items. There are boxes and various supplies on the table. Other participants in the background are also wearing hairnets and are engaged in similar activities. Bright yellow balloons are visible in the background, adding a festive touch to the scene.As the coordinator of ISBVI’s Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) and Student Training and Employment Program (STEP), Judy Reynolds worked to facilitate the Million Meal Marathon service opportunity in hopes that it’d teach ISBVI students the important lesson of being the change they wish to see in the world.

“When we heard about the Million Meal Marathon, I asked the admin to consider sending our students for this once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Reynolds says. “Service learning is the bridge connecting the students’ academic learning with community-based learning, teaching students to be contributing members of society.”

To see Superintendent Michaels’ full FOX59 interview, along with footage of the students and staff in action at the Million Meal Marathon, be sure to follow this link.

 

 

 

 

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