Editor's note: Local realtor R. Clay Lee wrote this on his blog to raise awareness of the Brazos Valley Food Bank.

I will never know why things happen to me the way that they do. However, as I get older, I have come to the realization that everything happens for a reason.

Last week was a prime example of this. I was standing in line at the pharmacy to pick up my epi pen so that I could start a new allergy treatment program that would not be covered by my insurance. When I signed up for the program, I justified the $1,200 a year with the hopes of not suffering through another allergy season ever again!

So there I stood in line waiting to pick up my pen. In front of me was a dad with three kids in the shopping cart. The kids were not happy go lucky, they were not clean, and one of them had a horrible rash creeping up out of the back of his shirt onto his neck. There were not any groceries in their cart either. I smiled and started up a conversation with the dad who told me his son had swimmers ear which had then gotten infected and started to bleed. They had finally made it to the doctor a few days before, but their car broke down so they had to take the "trolley" to get there and get home.

Fortunate in life

Something came over me that instant. I've been very fortunate in my life and especially this year. I was standing there in a few thousand dollars of clothes, shoes, sunglasses, a watch, and untold amounts of facial care products. There they stood just trying to make it to tomorrow.

While they were at the counter, I thought I would run to the ATM and take out a few hundred dollars and offer it to them to hopefully get them out of their rut a little bit. I had a new bank card, and stupid me had forgotten to set up the PIN number. I was furious.

When I got back to the line at the pharmacy, they were gone. I asked the pharmacist if I could pay for their stuff that they would come back for the next day and she told me that it was covered under Medicaid. Thank goodness for Medicaid!

I grabbed what I needed and headed out to my car. There I was going to get in my car when I noticed them sitting on the curb and the dad asked me what time it was. They would be waiting another 30 minutes for the "trolley." It's the summer here in College Station. That means that by lunch every day it feels close to 100 degrees outside. I said bye and got in my car feeling horrible that I hadn't done anything to help them.

I would offer them a ride, but the little girl needed to be in a car seat and I didn't have that either. So I looked in my wallet and found $40 and took it to them. I just told him that I knew things were rough right now and I hoped that the small amount would help him. He said thank you very much and smiled. I drove away feeling like I should do more.

Brazos Valley Food Bank

I went to a few appointments after that, but in the back of my mind, I was still thinking about my experience at the grocery store. I was hungry and for some reason, the Brazos Valley Food Bank came into my mind.

I don't know why, but I dialed 411 and asked for the number and in no time I was connected. I said who I was and asked what they needed right now more than anything. The lady on the phone didn't know what to say and asked if I would hold while she got the director on the phone.

Before I knew it, I was on the phone with Theresa Mangapora. She at first didn't get what I was asking. After a little bit, she asked me to hold. She was gone quite a while and when she came back she apologized for what she was about to say. She said she knew it was more than I was looking to help out with, but that they were $5,000 to $6,000 short for their summer back pack program. That didn't seem like that much money so I said, OK, and asked what else they needed.

I don't know who I thought I was, but I kept on asking what they needed and she kept apologizing for mentioning what they did need. Come to find out, the rising cost of gas has left them with the probability that they will be $4,000 short in their budget they have for gas to make the Brazos Valley Food Bank do all that it needs to do.

I guess I felt 10-feet tall and bullet proof at that moment, but I asked her if she cared if I tried to raise it by the end of the week. There was a long pause. She asked if I was serious and I replied with an astounding yes.

She agreed to e-mail me tons of information about the programs they had and I got off the phone. For some reason, it never hit me as to what I had just signed on for, but I immediately started through my phone book to anyone I knew who had means and a heart to go with it that might help out.

Feeding hungry children

The Brazos Valley Food Bank has a special program for kids during the school year and during the summer. It's called a Back Pack Program and it truly is amazing. Children who get free or reduced lunches at school are nominated by their teachers to be a part of the program. During the school year, the children are given a back pack full of food to take home for the weekend. It's filled with kid-friendly easy-to-prepare foods that the kids can pretty much take care of themselves. On Monday, they bring the bags back and the process starts over on Friday.

During the summer, the back pack program is run through community centers, churches, and a host of other programs that help keep these kids fed during the week and to have something to do. It truly makes the difference in a child's life.

The Brazos Valley Food Bank has similar programs that give boxes of food to seniors and to entire families. On its Web site -- www.bvfb.org -- it has all the information about each program and how you can contribute.

I'm happy to report that this small goal was met through contributions from many generous people who heard my call and joined me in fulfilling this need. However, the need isn't over. There is always a need for funding, food and volunteers.

My efforts just helped the summer program see itself to completion. However, soon the summer will be over and the school year will start again. The food bank will need our help again then. It's amazing how around $5 will feed a child for the weekend!

Good to be reminded

I guess the moral of this story is that you never know why something happens. However, you can always know that if you set your mind to something, you can do anything. We all forget sometimes how good we have it. I guess it's good to be reminded.

If you would like to help out the Brazos Valley Food Bank, please contact it at 979-779-3663 or www.bvfb.org. You may also contact me and I'll even come pick up your donation and take it to the food bank.

As always, for more information on living the luxury lifestyle in College Station, feel free to contact me at rclaylee@yahoo.com

• R. Clay Lee is a Realtor with Century 21 Beal Inc. in Bryan-College Station. He may be reached at 979-764-2100.

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1 comment(s) found!

Posted by: Tricia Anderson On: 8/12/2008

Comment Title: Mother of Five Children
Yes Our family needs Five backpacks before the school year begins. So we are responding to the ad for free backpacks and contact rclaylee so I hope this is correct. We have Two Teenage boys one younger boy and two younger girls that are in elementry school.

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