After helping start a local food pantry program for students with families facing food insecurity in Toledo, Paula Burrows decided to expand her efforts across all 12 Lewis County school districts.
In December, Burrows and five partners — McKenzie Kelly, Jessi Cox, Kami Baine, Adriana Garibay and Evie Hammer — founded Lewis County Footsteps of Hope, a new nonprofit that seeks to not only feed children in need, but provide them with other essential items, including shoes, clothing and personal hygiene products.
Burrows and some of her partners met with The Chronicle on Tuesday, March 18, to talk more about the work they’re doing in the community and to preview an upcoming fundraiser.
That event will be the “Jeans & Jewels Sparkling in Denim: United to Help Children in Need” fundraiser, starting at 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 26, at The Loft, located at 547 NW Pacific Ave. in downtown Chehalis.
“Our mission statement is to empower Lewis County students, pre-K through 12th grade, by providing access to essential resources and opportunities that support their overall wellbeing and foster their path to success,” Burrows said. “Because, children in need, they need to feel like someone cares. And you know, maybe their family doesn’t have a lot of excess to be able to provide the basics, and we just want that child to be empowered, have encouragement, have confidence. Because when kids have the basics, it changes their whole outlook.”
While the inflation rate dropped from 3% to 2.8% from January to February, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index, the last time the inflation rate hit 0% or went negative was May 2015. And though it was at or below 0% briefly in 2015, inflation rates have been at least at 1% or higher for the most part since 2000.
This means many families today are now increasingly feeling more financial pressure from costs that have been steadily rising for decades.
“There’s food insecurity throughout our county, and, I mean, there always has been, but I feel like it’s higher now,” Burrows said.
While Lewis County Footsteps of Hope’s goal is to open and stock food pantries throughout all 12 county school districts, currently, they have four set up at schools in Chehalis, Centralia, Pe Ell and Morton.
“The goal is to have them in all of the schools in Lewis County,” Kelly said.
They want to go further than just feeding children at school, as Burrows knows many students with families facing food insecurity often have to skip breakfast or dinner at home, too.
Students visiting one of Lewis County Footsteps of Hope’s pantries will not only be able to get food for lunch, but will be able to take home food for breakfast and dinner on weekdays and weekends.
“They can quietly throw something in their bag to take home with them, and on the weekends be sent home with a few extra things,” Kelly added.
Hygiene products are also a focus, even basics such as shampoo, toothpaste and deodorant.
“You think about deodorants, it's what, eight bucks, for a thing of it? If you’re a kid in a broke family, that’s hard to ask for, so some of the kids just go without stuff rather than ask for it. So they can quietly grab it and not have to make a big deal out of it,” Kelly said.
The organization is currently working on gathering other community partners along with seeking grant funding to get their pantries set up at every school throughout Lewis County.
“It is a big project, and it does take some patience, because you want everything to happen right now,” Burrows said.
They also want to ensure they can continually stock each pantry they open before opening another.
“This is a big project. There’s a lot of kids in need in every county. It’s not just our county,” Burrows added.
Many other local community partners and businesses have already been eager to help Lewis County Footsteps of Hope.
“Something that (a local) shared, ‘My kids, when they moved from Mexico to here, they were getting food through the school,’” Garibay said. “Now, he said, ‘It’s time for me to give back.’”
Kelly also stated they are working with local teachers and school counselors to identify students’ needs in order to better address them, including even clothing needs they may have. Plans are in the works for shoes and socks collection drives at various local businesses.
“If a kid has a new pair of shoes and they’re wearing older shoes that are starting to fall apart, it helps them step into the future with confidence and feel good about themselves,” Burrows said.
Additionally, they are holding a shoe drive at the nonprofit’s upcoming “Jeans & Jewels Sparkling in Denim: United to Help Children in Need” fundraiser, where attendees are being asked to bring a new pair of shoes for students ranging from pre-K to the 12th grade.
For those interested in attending the fundraiser, individual tickets start at $65 and tables for eight people can be reserved for $500.
The fundraiser will feature a social hour with appetizers catered by The Crowded Kitchen Catering Co., and dinner will be provided by Dan and Chris Gorton of Bonanza BBQ and Catering. It will also feature live and silent auctions.
Live music will be performed by Mason Gual, an independent country artist from Vader whose debut album “Mudflow” — inspired by the lives lost during the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption near his hometown according to his website — was released in 2023.
Burrows added anyone interested in donating an item for the event’s auctions can reach out to Lewis County Footsteps of Hope to get involved. Sponsorship opportunities ranging from $500 to $5,000 — featuring both seats at April’s fundraiser event, public and social media recognition and a banner on the nonprofit’s website — are also still available.
To reserve a ticket for April’s fundraising event, contact Burrows at 360-520-4810 or Kelly at 360-701-8502.
For more information on Lewis County Footsteps of Hope, visit its website at https://www.lcfootstepsofhope.org/ or follow the nonprofit on its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/lcfootstepsofhope/.
