As I was growing up I often heard about my father, Howard E. Yarnall, Jr. and his participation with the Child Feeding project in Germany in 1922. He was touched by the need and received a treasured gift from some of the families that were helped. Much later he happened to connect with a fellow professor at Pennsylvania State University who had been a recipient of the AFSC feeding in Germany.

Twenty years later, after my father’s death, I also wanted to participate in a project with the AFSC. Between jobs after college I happened to meet Roy McCorkel who was an AFSC fundraiser. Through him I learned about many projects. As a result I was able to be part of a project in Royal Oak Township outside Detroit, MI.

As with my father in Germany, this was an eye-opening experience living and working with the residents of a low income neighborhood. Seeing their efforts to improve their lives - especially with the children benefiting from the then new Head Start program.

A few years later I was living in the Baltimore Md. area and became reacquainted with John Sexton and Ralph Kerman, the two AFSC staff involved with supervising the Royal Oak project.

As part of Baltimore Yearly Meeting, I have heard reports from the Mid- Atlantic office of AFSC with interest. Through these reports I learned about the continuing legacy of AFSC, providing compassion as well as tangible assistance where there is need.