Founded last December by Paula Burrows and several other community partners after Burrows helped start a food pantry program for students facing food insecurity in Toledo, Lewis County Footsteps of Hope is continuing with its mission — providing meals to children in need along with clothes, shoes and personal hygiene products.
The new nonprofit is starting to gain more support in its efforts, as Wellpoint Washington just donated $10,000 to purchase refrigerators to expand food selection for children in the nonprofit’s backpack food program, although not every school throughout the county is getting a refrigerator for this school year.
Along with paying for the two new refrigerators, Wellpoint Washington’s donation will also pay for food to stock them.
Market Street Ace Hardware in Chehalis sold the refrigerators to Lewis County Footsteps of Hope at a discounted rate.
The Chronicle met with Burrows, Lewis County Footsteps of Hope board member Kami Baine and Wellpoint Washington community relations representative Chala Gray on Friday, Aug. 22, at Washington Elementary School in Centralia to learn more about their partnership.
Washington Elementary is where one of the new refrigerators just purchased by Lewis County Footsteps of Hope will store food for students.
Joining Burrows, Baine and Gray were Centralia School District Superintendent Dr. Lisa Grant, Centralia School Board President Tim Browning, Washington Elementary Principal Danielle Vekich, Washington Elementary Head Secretary Connie Dickey and Ace Hardware employees Lucas Mullen, William Johnson and Eric Lampkin.
“We just appreciate all the community support and everyone that has stepped up to help partner with us in this mission,” Burrows said. “Wellpoint (Washington) was one that reached out and called one day out of the blue. I was having a bad day, and then everything turned around.”
Wellpoint Washington focuses on serving Washington Apple Health residents across the state, according to Gray.
A Washington State Health Care Authority program, Washington Apple Health is the state’s Medicaid program for children to ensure youths get proper medical care and preventative treatment. Making sure students are fed certainly qualifies as preventative care — as youth who frequently miss meals suffer from malnutrition symptoms including fatigue, frequent headaches, stomach aches and insomnia.
Students missing meals also often have trouble concentrating in school and are more prone to suffer from depression stemming from hopelessness and stress due to food insecurity.
“And as Wellpoint Washington, we get to partner with community-based organizations like Paula’s,” Gray said.
Since 2000, the average annual inflation rate has fluctuated between -0.4% and 8%, with the only years products got marginally cheaper being in 2009 following the 2008 financial crisis when the average annual inflation rate was -0.4%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index (CPI).
And for those facing food insecurity, it isn’t getting any easier, as currently the CPI inflation rate is 2.7%.
While Lewis County Footsteps of Hope had been focused on canned and dry boxed food options to stock school pantries for students, the new refrigerators allow them to give students more healthy options, Burrows added.
Other community partners have stepped up to help too, as there is a sponsor who is paying for meals for 50 students this year at Centralia High School.
However, according to Grant, there were just under 200 students total in the district registered this year under the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. Vekich stated nearly 20 of those students were at Washington Elementary.
“Kids loved it. We let them come and ‘shop’ during school recesses, and they tell us, ‘Oh we’re out of peanut butter and jelly,’ or ‘We’re out of toilet paper,’ or ‘We need stuff for spaghetti,’ Vekich said. “… And they took pride, they were so excited to take this home, saying, ‘Oh my mom is going to be so excited.’ It was like they came to work and were able to provide for our family. And they were very grateful. We’ve heard from so many families that said, ‘This is helping us to get by, otherwise we don’t know what we would do.’”
Despite this, there is still a lot of work left to do throughout the county, according to Burrows, as the Centralia School District is far from the only one where students face homelessness.
“We put in for grants, but we have to be able to become sustainable, and I really feel like we need to have the community step up and do a little reoccuring donating on our website. If we can get 1,000 people donating $25 a month, we would be able to not worry about getting grants,” Burrows said. “Because if you don’t get the grant awarded, you don’t get the money.”
Along with providing discounted refrigerators, Burrows has also partnered with the Market Street Ace Hardware in Chehalis for a “roundup at the till” donation drive over the next couple of weeks.
Customers will also have the option of purchasing hoodies with proceeds going toward Lewis County Footsteps of Hope.
As far as clothes and shoes go, Burrows added they recently purchased 528 coats for students from the first through fifth grades, and have also secured a sponsor who will be donating shoes for students.
Burrows also thanks all of the sponsors who have stepped up already.
Sponsors so far include Sorenson Transport Co. Inc., D9 Country Market, Home Carpet Warehouse and Cabinets, Integrity Home Inspection LLC, IGA, Fiddleback Properties LLC, Pacific Mobile Structures, Evie Leef Allstate Insurance, Allure Medical Aesthetics, McCallum Rock Drilling, OlyFed, I-5 Cars, Adam Home Team EXP Realty, Edward Jones financial advisor Vanessa Horning, The Paula Burrows Team EXP Realty and Title Guaranty Co.
Others have also sponsored events, according to Lewis County Footsteps of Hope’s website.
“We look forward to growing and serving more schools and branching out,” Burrows said.
For more information on Lewis County Footsteps of Hope or to make a donation, visit the nonprofit’s website at https://www.lcfootstepsofhope.org/.
