Washer and Dryer Donation for KHS Students from Academea Club
After a very successful Academea Club silent auction on October 27th, the group wanted to think about how we could reach the most in our community. I remembered seeing a story on Facebook about an inner city school in New Jersey having issues with students not coming to school because they were being bullied for wearing the same clothes, dirty clothes or having hygiene issues. Principal Akbar of West Side High School in New Jersey did a deep dive to find out why they had this attendance problem and found out they were being bullied. They got a grant and turned a football locker room into a laundry room. They set up shelving for laundry donations and made it all free for the students to come in discretely and wash their clothes.
I ran this story by our club members and they all thought it was a great idea and would possibly touch many lives. Member M.R. Gillooly mentioned that she did this many years ago for Forest Area Schools. Once approved by the members, I contacted central office administrative assistant Ms. Cari Jo Berlin to see if we could get permission to purchase the washer and dryer. We got the green light and Kalkaska High School determined where they would put them and off to Home Depot we went. The Home Depot also loved the idea and we were able to purchase both washer, dryer, hoses and a 3 year extended warranty, all under budget.
Delivery has taken place and pictures are as follows… what a blessing this will be to Kalkaska children for many years to come!
That’s my story…
Val Thornburg, Kalkaska Academea Club President
