Whittier Elementary Announces 2023’s “Prides of March”
Now in its second year, Whittier Elementary celebrates “Prides of March”–a month-long focus on community service for a community partner and in-school spirit events. This year’s “Prides of March” partner organizations are Luther Memorial Church Food Pantry (located directly across from Broadview-Thomson K8 School) and Ballard High School Teen Health Center.
Donations can be dropped with Principal Watters or a student leader in the mornings at the gate or in classrooms (every classroom will have a box) from March 6 – 31. Grocery Gift Cards can also be given to me and will be used to purchase more resources (we’ll keep track of everything and be transparent in our reporting)
Other event details:
- 4th & 5th graders will help sort and organize our resources as we receive them
- Our student leadership team also established four dress-up days during the month:
- 3/10 – Class color or theme day
- 3/17 – Wacky hat and sock day
- 3/24 – Character day (movie, person or book)
- 3/31 – Neon day
- Please see below for the items our community partners are requesting, along with more information about their programs and donation needs.
Luther Memorial Church Food Pantry
This food pantry is located directly across from Broadview-Thomson K8 on Greenwood Avenue. The church collaborates with a Boy Scout troop to serve individuals in the immediate area with food and other resources. Many of the resources to stock the pantry come directly from the congregation members (a small but committed group) and the church budget.
Because the pantry is available 24/7, it is impossible to know exactly how many people are served, but we know for sure that we have several people who use the pantry regularly. The pantry is stocked every day and it is almost always empty when it is time to be restocked the next day.
Unlike other food pantries, our main focus is on providing nutritious and ready to eat items, focusing especially on those in our community who do not always have ways to cook food. And, we also know that people enjoy treats like Oreos and Rice Krispie bars too!
In addition to food, our pantry provides some basic toiletry items, such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, and individually wrapped toilet paper. The following items are the most needed at this current time:
Food:
- Mandarin oranges* (either cans or individual cups)
- Applesauce (either cups or the pouches)
- Peaches* (either cans or individual cups)
- Canned chicken
- Canned tuna
- Chili
- Beef jerky sticks
- Soup*
- Sardines
- Trail mix (individual packets)
- Nuts (individual packets)
- Granola bars
- Protein bars
- Shelf-stable milk cartons
- Individual bags of chips
- Pudding cups
- Raisins
- Rice Krispie treats
- Individual packets of Oreos
- Peanut butter crackers
- Cheese filled crackers
- Bottled water
- Granola bars
- Cup-o-Noodle
*If you provide canned items, please look for the ones with the pop-tops; many of the people who use our pantry do not always have access to can openers.
Ballard High School Teen Health Center
We are fortunate that all SPS high schools have a Teen Health Center where students can receive free health care and mental health therapy. Through the health center students can receive sports physicals, reproductive health care, treatment for illness (including chronic illness), immunizations and more.
In addition to providing care, the health center also provides food resources from the Ballard Food Bank and hygiene resources for students who may be experiencing house insecurity or other challenges.
We would like to gather hygiene resources for students at Ballard High School. These include:
- Deodorant
- Toothbrushes (individually packaged)
- Toothpaste
- Dental Floss
- Shampoo/Conditioner (small or travel size)
- Soap/Body wash (small or travel size)
- Lotion (small or travel size)
- Hair Brushes/Combs (individually packaged)
- Tampons/ Pads
- New drawstring backpacks