A Circle of Good

Woodhouse has partnered with Food Bank for the Heartland for the last twelve years to fight childhood hunger. While the program has made a direct impact on thousands of at-risk children across the Heartland, it’s had a long-lasting impact on Woodhouse employees, too. For one employee in particular — his Backpack journey with Woodhouse has come full circle. “A few years ago, my family was struggling. One Friday my kids came home with a bag of food that was placed in their backpack. At the time I was a little frustrated by it because I felt like people looked down on me because my kids weren’t wearing the popular clothes or shoes. I felt as if I was failing as a father to support my family. For many weeks this continued to happen till the end of the school year. For a few years I sat back wondering why! I worked my tail off to make sure that would never happen again. Then I started at Woodhouse and learned what the BackPack program was all about. It opened my eyes and made me realize after all these years why. It wasn’t that I was a terrible father or husband. It was because at points in people’s lives sometimes we struggle. It is only because of the community rallying behind this program, that my family was able to make it through those tough times. Now I’m able to give back and help another struggling family get through their tough times so one day they can be like me and take a step forward in their life!” – Don, Woodhouse Employee