Amplified: The Chesapeake Public Schools Podcast

A Phone Call Away

• Chesapeake Public Schools • Season 3 • Episode 24

Share episode

Holiday sparkle can hide tough realities. We open with lighthearted talk about candy and collards, then dig into how families in Chesapeake get real help fast—food, clothing, health access, school registration, and even job connections—through the tight partnership between our Family and Community Engagement (FACE) team and Nischelle Buffalow’s all-volunteer Buffalow Family & Friends.

You’ll also hear a clear guide to seasonal supports and if you’re ready to give back, there’s a place for you! The core message is simple and bold: reaching out for support is a sign of strength, and a single call to FACE can open many doors.

Subscribe, share this episode with a neighbor who might need it, and leave a review to help more families find these resources. If you can volunteer or donate, step in—ordinary people really are making a difference.

Send us a text

The Stories Behind Our Story

Matt:

You're listening to Amplified, the Chesapeake Public Schools Podcast. Your front row seat to the stories behind our story.

Jay:

Hi everyone and welcome back to Amplified. I'm Jay Lewter and I'm here with Matt Graham. Matt, I hope that you had a wonderful trick-or-treat experience with the kids.

Matt:

It was a blast. It was an absolute blast. The kids came home with tons of candy. I'm eating all the candy now, so I have to watch it.

Jay:

You gotta inspect the candy and take the dad tax.

Matt:

Right. The dad tax. Absolutely.

Jay:

I love a good dad tax. Get all those Snickers out of there. Get all those Reese's peanut butter cups. Those all go to dad. Yeah, I used to love to skim the trick-or-treat bag. I only have uh, like like you guys know, I have one child at home now. She's 16. So she went to hang with friends and we dressed up the dog in her Halloween costume and sat out and saw all the neighbor kids and we had a great night. And so uh once Halloween is over, we really start transitioning to the holiday season and we start thinking about Thanksgiving, Christmas, all those things. Matt, when I think about Thanksgiving, I think about that plate. You know, I think about what kind of things have got to be on that plate to make it a special holiday because Thanksgiving is, you know, all about the meal. Right. Everybody's all being together with your family and then having that big celebratory meal. What's something that it's not Thanksgiving unless it's on your plate, Matt?

Matt:

Well, it's a controversy in our family.

Jay:

Okay.

Matt:

But I always gotta have that sweet potato casserole. And that's not the controversy, but that's what I love and look forward to. So what's coming? Here's the controversy is my family is from Virginia. My wife's family is from New York. So when we come together for a meal, I gotta put a little of that southern flavor in there. Okay. And we bring in, or some of my family members bring in some collard greens. Okay. Right? You gotta have it. Well, my northern crew, my extended family had no idea what that was, and they say never again. So we have our text message going right now for Thanksgiving, and one of our families m made the point say, Don't worry, I'm not gonna bring the collard greens. But I look forward to it. Like, you gotta have it, right? What about you?

Jay:

Well, for me, it's all about the carbs. It's all about the carbs. I love the mac and cheese. I love the the yeast rolls in the little metal tin that you that come frozen and you warm them up. I love those. Corn pudding, another big one. Oh, that's a great one in in our house. Uh so all about the carbs, mashed potatoes. And everyone says turkey is the star of the show, but yeah, I I love all the sides.

Matt:

Yeah. Even a green bean casserole is so good. I love it all. All right, now I'm getting hungry.

Jay:

I know, I know. So, so Matt, uh, it's an exciting time of year, but also a time of year that brings some challenges for a lot of families, right?

Matt:

Correct. This time of year we have a lot of excitement, a lot of events, a lot of food stuff like what we were just mentioning. But at the same time, there's a lot of needs that need to be met. There's a lot of people that need some help during this holiday season, and it's not always that joyful time. So today we brought in Lisa Kerry, one of our family and community engagement specialists on our face team. And we also brought ini Nischelle Buffalow from Buffalow Family and Friends, and all the things that she and her volunteer program does for our community and how they work together. I mean, Michelle's been doing this for 16 years.

Jay:

16 years, that's right. She's a former Pride of the Peake award winner.

Matt:

There's just so much that Buffalow Family and Friends do for Chesapeake Public Schools and in our entire Chesapeake community, as well as our face team.

Jay:

It feels like a really good point for us to stop and thank Miss Andrea Vail for everything that's happening in the family and community engagement team over in her office. There's so much happening behind the scenes to support our families, schools, and communities. And we would be remiss if we didn't stop and pause to thank her for all the work that's happening out there.

Matt:

Absolutely, 100%. So I'm looking forward to hearing that collaboration as well between FACE and the Buffalow family and friends.

Jay:

And if you are a family that doesn't have a need right now, but you're saying to yourself, I really want to get out there and support the community, Buffalow Family and Friends is a great way to do that, as well as our face department, because either of those resources will get you out and supporting the community in whatever way you and your family would like to. So I'm really excited for our listeners to hear today's episode on Amplify.

Matt:

All right, listeners, we are back. And with us, we have Lisa Kerry from the Family and Community Engagement Team here with Chesapeake Public Schools, and we also have Michelle Buffalow from Buffalow Family and Friends. Welcome to the podcast.

Lisa:

Thank you. Thank you for having us. Thank you.

Matt:

All right. Lisa, can you share a bit of your journey and what led you to your current role with family and community engagement?

Lisa:

Yeah, so um back in 2019, uh, Dr. Cotton had a vision of expanding the Parent Resource Center to include all families so that we can make sure that we're more supportive to not just our special needs population, but to all families, whether they need uh resources for community resources, um, self-support with school resources. So this job came about in 2019, which was ironic because it happened right before COVID. Um, and so 2019, COVID hits, and we're in a greater need of connecting our families with community resources, with the schools. A lot of our families were just in the unknown area. They didn't know how education was going to continue, how they were gonna get food, job security, all of those things. So we found that there was a greater need for this role in helping our community. This position um allowed me to meet with community partners, find out how we can bring those community partners into our school district. I was thrust into the limelight of meeting with a variety of community partners, such as Nischelle Buffalow and Buffalow and Family and Friends, and how they could be a resource to helping our families deal with food insecurities, helping them with jobs, helping get um the COVID testing done and all of those things.

Jay:

And for those who don't know, uh Ms. Buffalow, can you tell us about Buffalow Family and Friends and your connection to Chesapeake?

Nischelle:

Yes, Buffalow Family and Friends started in November of 2010 because we saw a need in Chesapeake and we saw a need in our South Norfolk community, and the compassion led us to start feeding on Thanksgiving Day. And we started very small, 25 uh individuals at the park. Then we started two years out after that at the side of the house feeding about 150. And we noticed 150 of those individuals that third year of Thanksgiving, half of those were children. And not only did they need food, they needed clothing as well. So that's how we started doing our food and clothing initiatives throughout Chesapeake. And it's just the compassion of serving our city. Wonderful.

Jay:

And Nischelle, I think I I can already hear in your voice that purpose and passion, you found the perfect place where those two things are intersecting for you and Buffalow family and friends, where you're combining your purpose and your passion, and that's when the best work happens, isn't it? Yes.

Matt:

Right. And so you were mentioning about how you met the Buffalow family. Can you talk to us about that? How did this partnership come to be?

Lisa:

I originally met with Catherine Jesse, who was the community programs administrator for Chesapeake, the city of Chesapeake. Um, she encouraged me to go out, meet the Buffalow family and friends, meet Michelle, find out all of the wonderful things that she was doing as a great way to kind of get a hold of all the different community resources and the needs from our community. So, with that being said, I came to volunteer at one of her drive-through food banks. And I mean, it was a well-oiled working machine. I didn't realize the need was so big. I arrived at probably around 11. The line was already wrapped around the building. We were at a church at that time. And so it was already on Bainbridge Boulevard at that time. So I was like, oh my gosh, how are we gonna feed all of these people? And Michelle was like, Don't worry, we've got it all taken care of. Um I love that. And just, you know, getting out, talking to some of the families. We were in COVID, everybody had, you know, masks on and everything, but still just kind of getting to know some of the families that were coming through the line, seeing kids, knowing, you know, what's going on, how's your day, and just sharing those stories helped us really see what the need was in the community. I was really grateful for that, you know, partnership. And the chell was very open about sharing resources, talking about the different community members that come together to make this food drive such a wonderful thing for our families.

Jay:

What are some of the programs and traditions that you're the most proud of?

Nischelle:

The most proud I am is Thanksgiving to see how it's grown from feeding 25 individuals to last year, we served 21,000 meals. So the growth has really been inspiring in the steps that we've taken to grow. We took our footprints through Chesapeake to make sure that we're serving individuals that's suffering from food insecurities and individuals that's living in food deserts. So we've dissected in how how to get food through the communities. And as Lisa said, when we first met during COVID, it was real, a real big need then. Um we were basically the first individuals to step to feeding their children in Chesapeake. So we took 250 kids in Chesapeake and we delivered their meals to their door every day until we became smart, maybe two three months into that, and then we started delivering weekly baskets. But for the first three months, we were door-to-door five days a week with food.

Matt:

So you're like your own DoorDash, right?

Nischelle:

Yes, and that's basically, you know, how we started just delivering, making sure meals were given to those individuals that had no transportation.

Jay:

And just an army of volunteers, right?

Nischelle:

And that's how we make it volunteers. Our core is volunteers. We have no paid staff. Our core is our supportive volunteers. We reach out to uh Navy groups, we reach out to organizations, fraternities, sorority churches to help us make a difference in the lives of others every day. We take organizations and let them go out into the senior communities with us door to door and deliver groceries.

Jay:

Wonderful. So we know about your Thanksgiving program and what a fantastic support that is to the community. What other programs are Buffalow family and friends helping us with in the community? There's so much more. Amazing. They are amazing.

Nischelle:

So we actually started teaming up with Chesapeake Career Center. This will be our fourth year with our community hair salon. Twice a month, we have the amazing kids from cosmetology and now come in and service our community. They service our children, they service our seniors. And one thing about the kids, it helped them with their self-esteem and also help with bullying. You know, a lot of kids get bullied because of the way they look. And this and even the self-esteem with our seniors. And they come and when they're leaving out, they have a beautiful smile on their face. And it gives the chance for our students to get more, more hands-on experience, but also that customer service skill. They're building that customer service base that they wouldn't get anywhere else because it's different when you're dealing with different types of clientele.

Lisa:

And it's really important, you know, for our back to school uh event that we host, Michelle has a sign-up for kids to get their hair done right before school starts or get a haircut. And I mean, you I even get phone calls after the event. It's like, we didn't get to sign up and call Michelle. She says, Listen, my list is full, but I'm gonna make it work. And that's what I love about Buffalow Family and Friends. They are inundated with phone calls and the need, but Michelle never says no. She says, I will make it work. And that's what I love about working with Nischelle. She makes it happen.

Jay:

And you mentioned clothes as well, I think. Don't you also support families?

Nischelle:

So we also support clothes. Any type of giveaway that we do, we try to have the essential needs. And one essential needs is clothing. So we do have clothing at all of our needs. Um we have sometimes social workers from the schools that call us and be like, hey, we just got this new child that just enrolled. Are you able to have such and such available for them? So, you know, normally it gives us a couple of days to get that turnaround done, but we do provide different essential items to the school system.

Matt:

Well, your efforts are totally bringing families together, strengthening community. Is there a particular instance or story that really rings a bell to you that's like, man, this is why I do what I do?

Nischelle:

I'm gonna take carry salon. So I would say maybe two years ago, we had a referral from a um school social worker for a young lady to come in to um get the services. And so she was in there getting services. Her mom and her other three siblings were in our uh lobby area, you know, just sitting there. And um, so I asked them, I said, Well, would you like to get service the next time? And they said yes. And so, you know, I'm writing down what type of service they would need. That's not my profession. However, I could look to see that we may need some steps before they can get that particular service. So I go in and get the uh cosmetology instructor, Miss Rosalind, and one of our uh barbers, they come out, and and basically our barber, which is a student, and he was like, I think we need to handle this now. And we're gonna say this family was homeless and they was living in a hotel. And once they took the family back there, and I'm sitting in the hallway, they start connecting. So that connection as someone caring for you, it really took a toll, you know, of seeing this. But not only that, it's seeing the students that did the job very professional. You know, we would have been like, you know, what to do, what to do. Because in the midst of the service, you know, just starting, they found um different things in their hair that they had to detox and stuff, but they didn't they didn't fright, they just took on the job. And that's one thing that I can say. We build Chesapeake builds great students, and we are lucky to have them in our place of establishment.

Jay:

Wonderful. Nisha, you guys are doing such important work, and I love being able to celebrate the partnership that we have in Chesapeake schools with Buffalow family and friends. That is um it's really special. It is Matt. It's really special.

Matt:

Lisa, and I'm sure you have one of those types of stories too, right?

Lisa:

Yes, again, the partnership with Buffalow family and friends. I had unhoused family um needed to register for school. They were living in a hotel. I contacted Nischelle. They needed food. Uhelle was able to get them, she door-dashed actually, some food for the family. We actually got them some gift cards. I talked to Nelle, I said, These kids need physicals. She said, Don't worry, we've got the mobile, Chesapeake Regional Mobile Clinic coming. We'll get them physicals. That's the same day as our pop-up. We can get her more food as long as we can get her here. So we were able to get the family to Buffalow family and friends. Mom got the children the physicals. We were able to get them registered in school. And the mom says, I still need a job. And I said, you know, this isn't my realm. I said, but I think I can help you. And so together, the mom and I filled out the job application. I am happy to say that the mom is now a Chesapeake public school employee. So not only do we have the kids in school registered, the mom now has a job and is currently looking for housing in our area. And I could not have done that without Nachelle and Buffalow family and friends. I mean, the partnership there, we again, together, Nischelle said, don't worry, we're gonna get this family taken care of from point A to point B. And I am so grateful that we were able to now not only have the students in, we've got the mom with the job, and hopefully we'll have the mom with the house really soon. I mean, it's amazing how how community partnerships really help build our families and give our families that inspiration and that empowerment to do something better.

Jay:

And it's beautiful to see how all these services wrap around one another, from food insecurity to the salon to uh helping families to find employment and getting them back on their feet. Absolutely. What great work that FACE is doing with uh Buffalow family and friends. You know, when the calendar turns from October to November, we really start thinking about the holidays. We've talked a little bit about Thanksgiving meal preparation that the Buffalow family does for the community, but there's so many other community services that are related to holidays, like food assistance programs, toy drives, holiday meal services. Lisa, can you tell us a little bit about what FACE is doing to support families during the holidays?

Lisa:

Absolutely. So we partner with our school counselors and our social workers to disseminate information about different organizations that are holding, whether it be Thanksgiving food drives, food basket giveaways, things of that nature. We also talk about Chesapeake Care Center is opening up cast. It's our way of getting families in during the cold season so that they don't have to spend the night outside in the cold. So we're starting that back up. Also, we have pens, which is parents in need. They work with families with young children, helping them get basic essentials like milk, um, diapers, things of that nature. Also, the YMCA is partnering with us. They're giving away food baskets, and they also do an angel tree for Christmas. We also are currently partnering with Chesapeake Rotary Club. Chesapeake Rotary now is doing blessing in a backpack. Shell's also been helpful with doing that as well. And so basically, what we do is we partner with Chesapeake Rotary Club. They provide a little backpack of little food essentials for kids so that they can have food during the weekend, not have to worry about parents actually cooking. But these are things that are self-sustained foods that kids can eat up in the microwave and things of that nature. We tell families, you know, just give us a call. Call, contact your school counselor, contact the school social worker, you can contact face. If we don't have the resource, we will find the resource for you. So there's no wrong door. We want you to be able to come to us, trust that we will be there to help and support you.

Matt:

Well, what do you do for those families that might feel a little hesitant or maybe even a little embarrassed? What advice would you give them?

Lisa:

I like to tell families that you're not alone. We're all going through something at some point in our lives. And so I tell families, don't be ashamed. Let's talk. Tell me what you need. Tell me what, you know, no, there's nothing that is too big for us to handle. I think it's really important that we build connection and build relationships with our families because then they gain the trust. That's what's really huge in this role. We want to build the trust so that they can come to us and feel like they can share whatever their needs are. Again, you know, I tell families that the hardest part of this role is to make the phone call. And once you make that, yeah, the first call. Just make that home.

Matt:

And that's that's true for a lot of things, just putting that first step forward and know that it's okay for people to help you. I mean, this time of year is seasonal, like a lot of great things happen during the holidays, but it's also a time that might be a hard time for people.

Lisa:

Absolutely, absolutely. And you know, you're you're thinking about your kids having, you know, they're seeing all these things on TV and wanting all these things, and you're thinking, how can I provide all those things for my kids? But we still want families to enjoy the holidays, enjoy the good part of being with family. I mean, it doesn't have to be your blood relative. You can have, you can build family with friends and other connections. And so we want families to to just make that first step, make that phone call, and we will help guide you through whatever resource that you may need. We're not here to judge anyone. We're here to walk alongside. We're all together. That's what makes Chesapeake such a great place to live, is that we all want everyone to thrive here in Chesapeake. So no matter what your need is, please just make that first phone call.

Jay:

And Lisa, your your programs are are relatively discreet as well, aren't they?

Lisa:

Absolutely. Absolutely, absolutely. We don't share any information. Um, and again, if I share information with schools, I always ask the families, is it okay to share with the teacher? Would you like me to, you know, so if you don't want anyone to know your personal business, whether it's a health-related issue, everything that you share with me is confidential. I'm just about getting you the resource and the and the food securities that you need.

Jay:

There may be families that are listening right now and saying, you know, I don't need any support for myself right now. I feel like my family's doing okay. How do I get involved? How do I support? How do I volunteer? What opportunities are available for families that that want to give back?

Lisa:

So there are a variety of opportunities for families to get back. I always tell families not only do you need to reach out to Buffalow family and friends, but it's also good to reach out to your churches. A lot of churches are doing a lot of wonderful things for our families. The Chesapeake Rotary Club, they are helping us with blessing in a backpack. They're also um doing a coat drive. So, you know, it's getting cold with kids are starting to need coats, hats, mittens, and things of that nature. And again, I always talk about the babies. Before they enter school age, we need to make sure that we provide wraparound services for them. So the Virginia Department of Health has baby care. Baby care offers diapers, milk. They also help you fill out any type of paperwork that you may need to make sure that your child has the nutrition that they need, things of that nature. I can't say enough about the Chesapeake Care Resource Center. Again, that's our homeless shelter. Families can um go there during the day, take showers, wash their clothes. They also have a clothing drive there. Um, and we donate coats, blankets, and things of that nature. So they're always in need of items to help our families. And I encourage families to, you know, reach out to different entities um to find out what the needs are. And again, call face. We will get you into the right door.

Jay:

That is the message I'm hearing more than anything else, Matt. There are so many services. And if families need one place to call or one place to go to find out about everything, is call Lisa at face. Call me 757-547-0153 or cpschools.com and look for the face page, and we're going to get everyone the resources that they need so that they are happy and healthy during the holiday season. Absolutely, absolutely.

Matt:

And the same thing I was gonna ask you if are you you need some volunteers there at uh at the Buffalow family and friends?

Nischelle:

Always, always with Thanksgiving coming up. We do. If you follow us on social media, our website, we have information for volunteers to sign up to come out for the the week before Thanksgiving. We will start the week before Thanksgiving needing volunteers all the way through December. We host a warm and fuzzy program also in December. So we would need volunteers, November, December. So just follow us on those social media platforms.

Matt:

Lisa, we just heard uh the the things that the Buffalow family and friends are having coming up here in the next month or two. What do we have coming up here with the face department?

Lisa:

Wow, our office, we stay busy. So there's never an opportunity where we're just relaxing. We have coming up next the JCA Kids Cruise event that's happening December 7th, and that's where we um service over 700 Title I students. They're able to create a wish list and spend $30 at Walmart. We create a winter wonderland for them. It's a great way for them to also give back. They're learning the idea of donating and giving to others that are in need. They actually get to go see the holiday lights in Virginia Beach. JCA also has an opportunity for people to donate. So if you go to the JCA webpage, it's JCA Foundation.com. Families can donate or people can donate to that event. I encourage everyone to go to the uh Chesapeake Public Schools webpage and in the search menu, type in peak parent catalog. You'll see all of the different webinars that we've already hosted, events that we're hosting. We also have a parent cafe, which is gone going on monthly. It's the third Tuesday of every month at Chesapeake Regional, and that's just like a conversation piece where parents can come and just have a conversation about parenting. Because, you know, parenting is something else. So we learn all the time.

Matt:

Oh boy, is it? Yes. Something else. Yeah, please.

Lisa:

Listen, we just, you know, we come together and we just talk about all the things that are relating to parenting and how we can cope. So that's a good thing that we do on the third Tuesday of every month. And then for those families that are raising grandkids or you're raising someone else's kid, if you have a niece or nephew that you're raising, Kathy Dial has a kids, kid, and caregiver event that's hosted throughout the district. And so again, check out our peak parent catalog. It's an endless door of events.

Matt:

You're not kidding, you don't take a break. No, I mean, goodness.

Jay:

They are hopping in that family and community engagement office.

Matt:

Man, Andrea and the FACE team is really putting it on. They have so many events that they have really grown. Uh, and uh kudos to Miss Andrea Vail for uh doing a wonderful job getting all these initiatives and programs and events available uh through our family and community engagement team.

Jay:

She really has her hands on the on the pulse of what's happening in our schools and communities, and we're so grateful for the work they're doing in face. So let's wrap up with this. Nischelle, I'm gonna put you on the spot for a second. What message would you leave to all of our amplified listeners in our Chesapeake Public Schools families as they are leaning into the holiday season?

Nischelle:

As you're leaning into the holiday season, please know reaching out for support is a sign of strength. It's not a weakness. That's beautiful. And here at Buffalow Family and Friends, we're here to serve. And our motto is ordinary people making a difference in the lives of others. So if you need a support, please come see us. Matt, I don't think I could have said it any better than Michelle just did.

Matt:

Like, I know I just got goosebumps listening to that. I mean, it is. It is totally a sign of strength. And it's hard for some people to reach out if you're going through something. It's hard for someone. Yeah, I mean, I I deal with that too. It's hard when you're having a tough time to say, I need help. Yes. What a powerful message. We're so happy that you're here today and telling all the great things that you and the Buffalow family and friends do. Lisa, thank you so much for being here and sharing all the wonderful things that uh Face is doing and the collaboration between our family and community, the engagement team and Buffalow family and friends team. I mean, what a partnership.

Lisa:

Yes, absolutely. It's a great partnership. Yes, it is. And I also want to just remind families that during the season, remember to stay connected with one another, build relationships, and the art of kindness. I mean, this is a time where people are really going through, and it just takes a little effort to be kind to one another.

Jay:

Fantastic. Well, Lisa, Nischelle, thank you so much for being a part of what we do. And listeners, I hope you join us next time on Amplified. Thank you.

Matt:

We hope you enjoyed the stories behind our story on this episode of Amplified, the Chesapeake Public Schools podcast. Connect with us at cpschools.com forward slash amplified, and be sure to subscribe or follow us wherever you get your podcasts.

Head Shot

Mr. Jay Lewter

Co-host
Head Shot

Mr. Matt Graham

Co-host