While Students Rehearse to Honor Veterans, Special Speaker Honors Students

Wednesdays at Lake Forest Country Day School (LFCDS) usually include Community Meeting --- in the morning for the Lower School and mid-day for the Upper School. Wednesday, October 28, 2015, was a little different. On this morning, all students in Grades 1 through 8, gathered to practice their parts in the upcoming Veterans Day Assembly. At LFCDS, the Veterans Day ceremony is a beloved tradition, and a moving way for our students to honor local veterans.

This week, after the trumpeters practiced Taps and the students rehearsed special songs, the LFCDS community was honored to host Ramona Tolliver, great, great grandmother of one of our first-grade students. She was introduced by a panel of eighth-grade students.

Mrs. Toliver, who was born in New Orleans and attended high school in Chicago, founded Target Hunger nearly 30 years ago. She and several friends noticed neighborhood children rummaging through garbage cans in search of scraps for a meal. “Right then and there we decided to collect food and distribute it to the community,” said Mrs. Toliver.

Today, Target Hunger is the largest food pantry of its type in Texas. They have 15 pantries throughout the Houston area, six of which are geared toward senior citizens, and six of those pantries offer delivery to the homebound elderly. In addition to food, Target Hunger offers access to medical care, help with job searches, and workshops on interviewing and dressing for employment.

Recognized for her important work to feed the hungry, Mrs. Toliver was invited by U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas) to meet the Pope when he visited the United States last month. “I asked her if it was to ‘see’ the Pope or to ‘meet’ the Pope. When she told me I’d actually meet him, I went,” said Mrs. Toliver. “It was cold, it was crowded, but it was wonderful. One of the most interesting things I’ve done in a long time.”

At 87 years old, Mrs. Toliver had wise words to impart to LFCDS students, “Everybody is somebody. If you treat somebody with dignity and respect, you will get it back,” she said. “It’s hard work. Not everybody is going to appreciate you, but you do it anyway. Remember that.”

Mrs. Toliver presented the school with a signed photo of the president and a flag that flew over the Capitol in Washington D.C. on October 14, 2015, in honor of Lake Forest Country Day School students and their interest in giving back.

The flag will be on display Wednesday, November 5 at the Veterans Day ceremony.