A family legacy of service, carried forward one meal at a time

For Sandy Kennedy ’67, service isn’t simply something she does; it’s a part of who she is.

Raised in a family deeply committed to helping others, Kennedy grew up surrounded by examples of people who put their faith into action. Several of her uncles served in Civilian Public Service camps during World War II. Her aunt, Lois Gunden, was recognized as Righteous Among the Nations for saving Jewish children during the Holocaust. Her aunt Ruth Gunden ‘52 was a pioneering leader at Goshen College, founding the college’s first women’s basketball team and first intercollegiate women’s athletic team in 1958, later becoming the first woman to lead a Study Service Term unit. Her legacy continues through the Dr. Ruth Gunden Champion of Character Award and the Ruth E. Gunden Athletic Scholarship, both established to support and recognize female student-athletes.

“You know how some families have military in their history?” Kennedy asked. “My family has service.”

That legacy of compassion and service, reinforced by her faith and her time at GC, continues to guide her today as coordinator of the Tampa, Fla., chapter of End 68 Hours of Hunger, a national nonprofit organization that provides food to children facing hunger on weekends.

After graduating from Goshen College with degrees in elementary education and French, Kennedy taught second grade at Ottawa Elementary School in Mt. Clemens, Mich., for four years before stepping away from work to raise her two children. When she returned to the workforce, she found herself at the forefront of educational technology, working for a company that supplied computers to religious schools, at a time when such technology was still relatively rare. Eventually, she began teaching computer classes at the middle school her daughter attended. “I called myself a technologist until I retired from a school in Florida in 2011,” said Kennedy.

The organizational and technological skills she developed throughout her career now play a vital role in coordinating the complex logistics behind End 68 Hours of Hunger. Founded in 2011, the organization addresses a critical gap for children experiencing food insecurity. “It’s an approximation of the amount of time between free lunch on Friday and free breakfast on Monday morning,” Kennedy explained. “A lot of kids eat minimally or don’t eat at all during that time.”

When Kennedy’s church launched a local chapter in the Tampa area in 2014, she became involved almost immediately. “We started in schools that were not huge poverty areas,” she said. “We didn’t know how much money we were going to need because we had to raise our own funds,” said Kennedy. The chapter began with a single school and 25 children. Eleven years later, it serves nearly 1,000 children annually.

Today, Kennedy coordinates approximately 200 volunteers and oversees five pantries serving schools throughout Hillsborough County. Working closely with school social workers, the organization identifies families in need and gathers important information, including the number of children in each household, food allergies, and available cooking resources.

Each week, volunteers purchase food, pack bags, and prepare deliveries. From Monday through Thursday, teams assemble customized food packages for each family. On Friday, volunteers deliver bags to schools, where they are distributed to children before the weekend.

“It’s a pretty labor and email intensive activity,” Kennedy said, “The idea is to make their lives easier, and it can’t happen without the volunteers. There’s no way we can do it without them.”

While the work requires careful coordination, Kennedy remains motivated by a simple conviction, “It’s not about me – I believe in Micah 6:8, ‘Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God,” said Kennedy. “I’m here to make somebody’s life better.”

After more than a decade with End 68 Hours of Hunger, Kennedy continues to find hope in the growing number of people willing to serve alongside her. “It’s the number of people who care,” she said. “That’s what gives me hope.”

For Kennedy, a life rooted in service has come full circle – carrying forward a family legacy, reflecting the values she embraced at Goshen College, and helping ensure that hundreds of children have food when they need it most.