2022 Delaware FFA Convention service project group photo

Hope restored after the 2022 Delaware FFA Convention

The drive to Harrington, Delaware took a little over an hour. The weather was brisk, but beautiful and traffic was minimal. Driving from north Delaware to southern Delaware is such a treat, the open roads, blue skies and farm land bring me a sense of peace.

The 2022 Delaware FFA Convention took place at the Harrington Fairground this year. Today was their day of service and they chose to invite us down for a chat and a bag packing event.

This is the first time my 12-year-old, Finnegan Stephan, took a leading role in a 3B event. Today Finnegan took the mic and introduced his brother. He provided brief information about how 3B was formed and what we have accomplished over the last 9 years. I am so proud of him for conquering this fear. Several of the FFA students took time to give him fist bumps afterward.

Braeden spoke less about what 3B is and more about why it’s important to him. His talk was more somber than at previous events. Of course he hasn’t spoken in-person for two years due to COVID-19, so a lot has changed in his life. He is now 18 years old, he’s not the same young kid who put this all together. He has seen the dark side of working with homeless populations. Thankfully, he still has the same big heart.

I’ve had people tell me that handing out Brae’s Brown Bags isn’t helping anyone. That the homeless are lazy or drug addicts. No one grows up wanting to hold a cardboard sign on a street corner begging for money or food. That’s no one’s dream.

Braeden Mannering, March 8, 2022
Braeden talking at the 2022 Delaware FFA Convention
Braeden went on to give examples of some of the people he has met over the years. He told their stories, he shared how they are good people who worked hard and things didn't end up going their way. I think it is critical for people to understand that there are vulnerable populations who need support and compassion rather than hard knocks. Humanizing the man or woman behind the tattered clothes and cardboard signs is important.

We all cope with loss and pain in different ways. And each of us in this room have walked a different path. You can’t look at someone and know what they are going through. You can’t look at someone and claim to know how much time or resources they are worth.

I hope we choose to be the kind of people who stop to give someone a moment…We are all somebody’s son or daughter.

Brae’s Brown Bags is a simple concept. We don’t need to be fancy or complicated to make a difference. Each person who receives one of these bags can be helped, that matters to me. That person matters.

Braeden Mannering, March 8, 2022

There were many helpers assisting with the bag packing today. Of course the majority were current FFA students from middle and high schools across the state. I’d like to say thank you to a student named Jasmine who showed interest in doing research to help us find a more environment friendly way to pack our bags to hopefully someday use less plastic water bottles!

2022 Delaware FFA Convention service project group photo
A group photo after the bags were all packed!

We had a great deal of enthusiastic help from Jackson Sylvester, a former president of Delaware FFA, and a graduate of Lake Forest High School in Kent County, who is now the National FFA secretary.

There were also some FFA alums, like Kristin Cook, who helped us find our way around The Centre Ice Arena, a 49,000 square-foot facility that sits on the Harrington Fairgrounds.

Ultimately, this caring group of young FFA leaders packed nearly 250 Brae’s Brown Bags.

Amanda Powell, Executive Secretary of the Delaware FFA Association, let us know that the bags will be donated to People’s Place in Dover, Delaware. This organization offers a variety of services. One of which is called “Whatcoat Social Services” (Whatcoat) provides emergency shelter and transitional housing for low-income individuals and families.  

Whatcoat’s Donation Wish List

  • Soap
  • Toiletries
  • Gift cards
  • Backpacks
  • Paper products
  • School supplies
  • DART bus passes
  • Diapers and Pull-Ups
  • Dish detergent/sponges
  • Non-perishable food items
Braeden Mannering and Finnegan Stephan after the event outside The Centre
Braeden Mannering and Finnegan Stephan after the event outside The Centre

Delaware FFA State Convention

Today is the start of Delaware’s statewide convention for FFA. They chose for their service project to be a bag packing with 3B Brae’s Brown Bags. Braeden and I will be heading to Harrington, Delaware to be part of this experience. We’re excited to be able to work with other youth again. This is our first big bag packing since the pandemic started two years ago!

Many thanks to the Delaware FFA for inviting us! We’ll post photos and talk about the event after we get home!

Thank You Delaware FFA #MakingADifferenceTogether

braes bags packedWe would like to extend our sincere thanks to the Delaware FFA for yet again choosing 3B Brae’s Brown Bags to be a service project during their statewide convention in Dover last week.

Their convention is meant to span three days. However, this year due to a snow storm, they ended up cramming LOT of activities into just one day!

Fortunately, they still made time to pack bags of healthy food for those in need in the Kent County area and we are incredibly grateful.

Amanda Powell, Executive Secretary of the Delaware FFA Association, let us know that the FFA students packed 270 bags. They have also already delivered 110 bags to the Salvation Army and 160 bags to Peoples Place both in Dover, Delaware. PLUS they plan on packing EVEN more bags in the near future!

Future Current Leaders

When Brae spoke at the Delaware FFA Convention last year he said, “I think it is safe to say that we all realize food insecurity is a problem, it’s a big problem. And it’s something that one person cannot fix alone. But when we all work together, I have learned we are pretty much unstoppable.”

The Delaware FFA students never cease to amaze us with their dedication and leadership. They are proof that when we all work together, we can make a big difference!

Happy First Day of Spring

Before we get into the highlights of what has happened since our last update we want to make sure you have all registered for the Coming Together Hunger Conference. We are co-hosting with the Food Bank of Delaware and are SUPER excited about this year’s event! We are anticipating nearly 200 students to attend for the Kid Track, but we are hoping all of you will attend on the adult side. Don’t worry, even the adults will have a chance to see what the kids are doing throughout the day.

Coming Together will feature both an adult track and kids’ track, with opportunities for both groups to come together to identify solutions to issues related to hunger.

I promise you that you will leave feeling inspired and you will learn something. Plus I would like to see you out, because you know we can only end hunger if we do it together.

Okay so what have we been up to since our last post. A LOT! You know we say that every time. Haha.

There have been a few code purples called in Delaware. We thought our winter had been mild and really it has been but the last couple weeks of winter went out in style bringing us frigid temperatures snow and even an ice storm! It was beautiful, but it was also really bad news for my friends without addresses.

We had a table at the 1st Annual Christina School District Family Resource Fair which was a big success. Many people came out to see what the community has to offer and we heard that the New Castle County library exhibit handed out over 100 new library cards to people! That is VERY COOL! I couldn’t be there for the event so my family helped out. My brother and sister, Finn and Amelia, they set up the table and they were happy to be able to support 3B. Plus they got to eat pretzels and have their face painted!

Town Square Delaware wrote an article about me. Ms. Christy Fleming came to visit me at my house and she interviewed me. It was nice to meet her and I appreciate that she wanted to know more about Brae’s Brown Bags. Ms. Fleming’s article shares how 3B has grown, “3B Brae’s Brown Bags helps get healthy snacks to the homeless and the needy. But it takes lots of time and coordination, and Brae now also counts on donations by schoolmates and others who read his blog because the charity has gotten so big.”

I was able to be a speaker at the annual Delaware FFA Convention earlier this month. It was nice to see a room full of students who care about agriculture and who realize that food insecurity is a solvable problem. They packed almost 500 bags of healthy food for people in need. We brought some home and the rest remained in the Kent County area to help any shelters who might needs extra supplies.

I found out that I am  a recipient of a 2017 Sodexo Foundation – STOP Hunger Youth Grant! This makes me very happy because it helps to keep 3B sustainable, but it also helps to show other kids that there are organizations out there who believe in them and believe that we are change makers. The Sodexo Foundation and STOP Hunger are empowering, they not only want to help end hunger but they also want to get kids involved and I am glad I can be one of those champions.

Last but definitely not least. I took a trip with my Mom up to New York to attend the Jefferson Awards Foundation annual gala at Gotham Hall. Yes, it sounds like something right out of Batman and yes I do think that is really cool. It was super fancy. There were a lot of incredible people there and all of them believe in public service, it was super inspiring to be a part of the event. I feel very honored that I was able to receive an activation award (Newark Post) on the same stage as Olympic Gold Medalist Laurie Hernandez and the great musician/social activist Harry Belafonte. Plus, I encourage all of you to look into the national LEAD360 winner for 2017! Her name is Emma Stumpf and she creates art kits to give to patients in children’s hospitals. She knows what it is like to be stuck in the walls of a hospital for long periods of time as she is fighting cancer and has been for many years. I didn’t get to meet her at the event because she was in the hospital having just come through her 17th brain surgery. She is definitely a huge inspiration! I hope you are willing to help her activate this project and help it to put smiles on the faces of kids across the country. I think it will be fun to help her with this project!

Happy New Year and some big plans for 2015

coming-in-2015You’ve already heard I want to create a National Kids Hunger Conference. (Knowing my Mom, and knowing me, it’s going to happen eventually) What you might not know is that I have been working on a conference for my home state of Delaware and it will be happening in 2015! Thanks to the Food Bank of Delaware and the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) there will be a “Coming Together” hunger conference on May 4, 2015 and it will be the first ever hunger conference to include a track just for kids. I really could not be more happy about this, I really am so excited.

Schools in Delaware will get getting information this month to ask them if they would like to participate in this pilot conference. We are sending out invitations to hopefully get Vice President Joe Biden to be our keynote speaker. He is from Delaware after all. I also really want to get some celebrities involved but so far they haven’t responded to my tweets. And then my friend, Tanya Steel, who created the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge, has already agreed to attend and help in anyway. I’m thinking she’d be perfect for a cooking demo for the kids.

Spring will be busy for me, but Winter isn’t over. I have talks planned, one tomorrow night with a boy scout group, 64th Brandywine in West Grove and one on the 14th with a 4-H group. I’m happy about getting back into the swing of things. But I won’t pretend it was nice to have a break in December.

My Mom and me are flying to Atlanta, Georgia the first week of February so I can attend and speak at the Kids Business Expo. I’m actually a speaker for their Kids Are Heroes Youth Leadership Summit which is happening during the expo at a conference center there. It should be fun.

Oh and I have been asked to speak at the Delaware FFA Convention this Spring in Dover. I think that is going to be great especially because usually when I go to Dover it is to visit Legislative Hall and talk with the Senate and the House so this will be super cool to talk to younger people and maybe even get some 3B bags down to Kent County.

Before I go, I just want to remind everyone in Delaware, when temperatures drop below 20 degrees here there are code purple sanctuaries which open up so homeless individuals have a safe haven for the night. I will update Facebook or my Mom will update Facebook when we hear the locations.