On July 26, Bruce met with Marilyn Thornton, Assistant Superintendent of Schools for the Hanford Elementary School District. At the meeting, Bruce offered the services of the Epic launch team to the needs of students and families in the district.

At first Ms. Thornton seemed a bit hesitant about the offer. Ms. Thornton's skepticism seemed to underscore the majority of the conversation she shared with Bruce. Eventually, after Bruce mentioned the idea of providing backpacks, Ms. Thornton's demeanor showed a small openness. She offered that the 7th and 8th graders in the district would benefit greatly from that kind of offering.

Ms. Thornton went to her office to gather some statistics. She came out and gave Bruce a tally sheet showing a total of 168 students who represent "significant need". She gave Bruce the opportunity to provide backpacks for these students. She seemed a little reserved still, but took Bruce to show him a room loaded with boxes of school supplies provided by the local Catholic youth group. She told Bruce that these supplies were for Kindergarten and First graders and that the youth group had provided these supplies for a few years now.

As they ended their conversation, they exchanged information and Bruce asked if there were any students in need of shoes. Ms. Thornton replied that throughout the year, she would become aware of many, many students in such a need. Bruce asked her to let him know about those needs as they came up, so that Epic could purchase those shoes. Although some skepticism persisted, Ms. Thornton was grateful for the offer.

Providing these backpacks will open many doors for serving the children of Hanford. Once Ms. Thornton recognizes that EPIC is a group of Christians who care, not a church wanting a PR boost, I am sure she will include us in many more opportunities for service.