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Adult volunteers sought as school Lunch Buddy mentors

More than 100 children are waiting for a reliable once-a-week companion

By Susan Parrish, Columbian Education Reporter
Published: September 6, 2014, 5:00pm
3 Photos
Isaiah Ephraim, then a fifth-grader at Martin Luther King Elementary School in Vancouver, listens as Steve Runyan, a volunteer Lunch Buddy, talks about Patrick McManus' story &quot;Blood Sausage&quot; in February 2008. The two had been lunch buddies since Isaiah was in third grade.
Isaiah Ephraim, then a fifth-grader at Martin Luther King Elementary School in Vancouver, listens as Steve Runyan, a volunteer Lunch Buddy, talks about Patrick McManus' story "Blood Sausage" in February 2008. The two had been lunch buddies since Isaiah was in third grade. (Vivian Johnson, The Columbian files) Photo Gallery

Elementary school children in Vancouver Public Schools are waiting for an adult Lunch Buddy mentor to meet them over a school lunch once a week.

The Foundation for Vancouver Public Schools’ Lunch Buddy Program is recruiting adult volunteers for the 2014-15 school year.

Buddies share a 45-minute lunch with the same student once a week for the duration of the academic year. After eating lunch, the student and mentor might, for instance, play board games, work on a craft, read or talk.

More than 300 students in 19 elementary schools benefit annually from the Lunch Buddy program.

More than 100 children are waiting for lunch buddies.

Adults interested in becoming a Lunch Buddy should attend an informational meeting from noon to 12:45 p.m. Sept. 24, or noon to 12:45 p.m. Oct. 15, at the Bates Center for Educational Leadership, 2921 Falk Road.

To register and order an optional $5 box lunch, call Marija Hobbs at 360-313-4725 or email LunchBuddy@vansd.org.

For program details, call 360-313-4725 or visit http://foundationforvps.org/site_directory/programs/lunch-buddies.html.

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Columbian Education Reporter