The desire to help others has fueled what CCHS Senior Sam Gray hopes will be part of his legacy.
Gray is a student of Agriculture teacher MacKenzie Wright. Students in her class had to develop a legacy project. The project was presented to school administrators and community members before it was approved. Gray has created The Share Shed, which provides hygiene items to fellow Panthers. It’s in conjunction with the school’s food pantry.
The goal is to provide soap, shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, toilet paper and other items to students who may not have access to them at home. Wright and Gray said they learned such items cannot be purchased with food stamps and young people tend to be embarrassed to ask for help so this anonymous source was created. Razors cannot be accepted for The Share Shed.
Two of his fellow ag students have also floated the idea of installing washers and dryers in the boys and girls locker rooms so students can wash their clothing. The students would be provided a locker as well so they could keep clean clothes in during the week. A second idea is to provide materials for a shower room for students as well. Neither of those projects has taken flight yet, but CCHS Principal Amy Sutter is encouraged by the forward thinking.
“So far it’s going alright,” Gray said. “Most of the kids who need help come to me. We’re trying to make it anonymous.”
The senior with the big smile said he will even deliver food and hygiene products to a student’s home if necessary. “I’ve got a truck and I’ll deliver when I’m not working,” he said. Wright shared a story about Sam delivering to a young man he knows after the boy came to the food pantry and asked for toilet paper. There wasn’t any in the pantry at the time, but Wright purchased some and Gray delivered it to the young man’s home one evening after school. “That’s the kind of thing Sam does that he wouldn’t tell you about,” Wright said.
The Share Shed is located outside of the school building and is accessible as needed. Students retrieve a drawstring bag and fill it with whatever items they need. Gray also has small baggies of hygiene items prepared for the taking.
Community partners have regularly donated to The Share Shed, according to Wright. CCHS Principal Amy Sutter was one of the first to donate, Gray added.
Sutter praised Gray’s project. “He’s just fabulous,” Sutter said, noting Sam also has a mission to ensure high school students have food they can make on their own. The food pantry is full of microwaveable items, cereal, pop tarts and numerous other self-serve items.
Gray said he was flattered by his principal’s description. “I feel good. I like helping people,” he said. “I’m glad people use it all the time.” But, Gray said he needs younger students to begin helping so the project will not die when he graduates.
This is the second year Gray has worked in the food pantry. Previously it was administered by staff members who kept it open after hours, Wright said. She noted those people are no longer with the school and the schedule was not feasible for her so they started following a new path.
“Sam needed something to keep him busy, I needed the help, and here we are,” she said. “He definitely takes a lot of pride in it.” Gray noted one time the door on The Share Shed was broken and he got very upset because he took it personally.
Gray and Blake Jones, another CCHS senior, also work at the middle school food pantry. Shelby Jones, youth service advocate at CCMS, orchestrates their pantry. She’s also helped by eighth graders Matthew Biggin, Gama Maldanado and Jackson Kyle.
The middle school’s pantry is primarily furnished through Dare to Care, but some items are purchased at Kroger and Amazon. This week the school received a 1,000 pound palette of food ranging from cereal to juice to canned goods to candy and popcorn.
The CCMS pantry is a little different from the high school food pantry. The middle school helps fill backpack buddies every week for about 75 students in addition to being open for student “shopping”. The three eighth graders fill backpacks, stack them in crates and organize them for students to retrieve. The backpack buddy program includes two breakfast items, two lunch items, two dinner items, two snacks and a fruit.
“They’re really good kids,” Shelby Jones said. “They don’t mind helping even when they’re not with me.”
CCMS Principal Robin Stephenson praised Shelby Jones and her efforts. "She has done a wonderful job addressing CCMS students’ nutritional needs. Shelby has built great relationships with our students—they feel comfortable coming to her when a need arises. She has also fostered leadership skills among several of our eighth grade students through their weekly food pantry assistance," Stephenson said.
Anyone wishing to donate to The Share Shed or the school food pantries can do so by contacting Wright at CCHS by calling 502-732-7075 or Shelby Jones at CCMS by calling 502-732-7080.