Thanks to $28,000 worth of donations raised by the RJR Alumni Association, Reynolds High School was able to officially open their new and improved Demon Pantry last week to start supporting more students than ever with free food, clothes, toiletries, and more.
Student Counselor Dr. Amy Johnson Williams says that the number of students at Reynolds who are eligible for free and reduced-cost lunch has gone up significantly since she joined the school’s staff, rising from 35% in 2004 to 53% now. She collaborated with parent volunteers several years ago to start to alleviate the problem by applying for a Backpack Program grant from Second Harvest Food Bank to provide students with canned food. Before long, however, they saw the need to offer more.
“Once we started it, we realized that the size of the cans of food was really more geared towards elementary school students, so we started adding larger sized cans of food to supplement what we purchased from the food bank,” Williams said. “Eventually, we stopped doing the Backpack Program and just had non-perishable food donations from individuals, groups, churches, and especially Centenary United Methodist Church.”
This system evolved into the Demon Pantry, which now offers not only shelf-stable food, but also school supplies, hygiene products, and clothing staples like winter hats, jackets, and even shoes. The school’s PTSA started supporting the program through their budget in the 2017-18 school year, and it’s become a reliable resource for the student body.
However, space was a concern for a long time. Centenary offered some off-site storage, but the pantry mostly operated out of a small space in the student services office of the school. This year, the RJR Alumni Association stepped in to raise money so that the pantry could expand into a larger space. Thanks to their successful efforts, a separate alcove in the school has been renovated into a fully realized food pantry that all students can easily access and navigate.
Association Vice-President Harry Corpening says the group has seen an outpouring of support from the community to help Reynolds students in need. In addition to the $28,000 collected for expanding the pantry, he also conducted an interview with School Social Worker Lanette Taylor about her work with the school’s 34 homeless students in December. He posted the interview to the alumni website, and the results were heartwarming.
“Via my last emailed newsletter, which was one of many I periodically sent out to over 11,000 alumni, I asked them to consider sending in donations to support these 34 homeless teenagers,” Corpening said. “In less than a month, $3,400 in donations were received. That shows that the alumni of Reynolds High School are truly unique in the way they support their 102-year-old alma mater.”
Principal Calvin Freeman says that ensuring academic growth among his students requires efforts to take care of them outside of the classroom. A student who isn’t hungry, cold, or insecure about their financial situation at school can focus more on their studies and on investing their energy in school clubs, teams, and culture. The Demon Pantry is going to be an essential resource for maximizing student engagement and wellbeing for years to come.
“It is incumbent upon us to remove barriers that get in the way of kids learning,” Freeman said. “We want every student to have a chance at academic success and be able to come to school and get all of the things that they need… this is just one way that our community has supported removing those barriers for students.”
For more information on how to help students in need at Reynolds, go online to www.rjralumni.org.