What time of year? Ask almost any child in America that question and they will likely be quick with the answer. School is about to begin (or already has in some places) and that means it is time for students to learn and teachers to teach new things.
Teach and learn. Learn and teach. Yes. What is being taught and learned isn’t always about novel discoveries – but it is about sharing knowledge and the successes of others with new audiences. In the process, any good teacher who is honest will tell you, the instructor can benefit as much as the student.
That is what we at NFESH believe anyway. Although we won’t be lining up at the bus stop every morning to head to the classroom come September, we will be embarking on a fresh “school year” of our own. And our positive anticipation surely rivals that of any child with a new book bag.
In our last blog we told you we’d be heading back to Pennsylvania to initiate more What A Waste projects in two counties. That has already begun and the header photograph you see here chronicles how enthusiastically folks at those sites are reacting to and getting involved in our new partnerships.
Pennsylvania is not the only state where we will be returning to build on successes. We will also be heading back to Georgia, Oklahoma, and West Virginia to implement our more comprehensive What A Waste initiatives in additional venues in those states. Matt Levine will be directing those projects as well as carrying the message to representatives of many others when he conducts a session at the Home and Community Based Services conference in Baltimore.
Then there is the teaching and speaking, which has folks in this office humming choruses of “On the Road Again.” NFESH Founder and CEO Enid Borden will be delivering keynote addresses to senior advocates in Arizona and then to legislators and other elected officials in Oregon, Kentucky and South Carolina. In the later three venues she will not be addressing “usual” audience – and an equally important side of that coin is that those audiences will not be hearing their typical speaker. Of this we can all be sure: her straight talk and deep thought will inspire and engage those leaders at the same time that it will challenge them to actively devote the strength of their positions toward doing something concrete about addressing hunger in their communities and states.
Time to head out and buy some new shoes. School’s about to begin.