Woodbridge students lend helping hands in their own community

April 11, 2017

West of Georgetown and just east of Bridgeville is the unincorporated community of Coverdale Crossroads, a rural poverty-stricken neighborhood. On Wednesday, March 29 the Food Bank of Delaware’s mobile pantry truck made a stop at the neighborhood community center.

Students from Woodbridge High School’s Community in Schools program assisted in distributing 30 pounds of shelf-stable food plus additional frozen chicken and fresh fruits and vegetables to 50 families who reside here.

Evelyn Wilson coordinated the event. As founder of Just Stand Up, a community not-for-profit organization, she said she also arranged for the Food Bank’s first mobile pantry in this community.

“Here we have space to have it,” she said. “I like helping people out. Most of those people are working and not on welfare. This is a way to help them stretch their money. If they don’t have to buy some food, they can use that money to pay a bill.”

The Food Bank of Delaware provides food assistance through community partners; last year, we distributed 1,199,792 pounds of food in Sussex County alone.

Distribution sites also rely on volunteers, such as Ms. Wilson and the students who came out to help.

Communities in Schools is a nationwide network of organizations that uses community resources to encourage students to stay in school and to succeed in life.

The four student volunteers, also residents of the Coverdale Crossroads Community, volunteered their time to earn service hours needed for graduation.

Timneshia Sampson, a senior who is interested in pursuing a career in social work, was volunteering for a second time.

“I live here, and this is a way to give back to the community, to give back to the people who need it,” she said.

Jordan Walker, also a senior and a resident, plans to attend college to become an attorney. He said he enjoyed the experience.

“I’d do it again,” he said.

Danny Morales, a sophomore, said he volunteered because “I like exploring new horizons.”

Thanks to the students who came out to help. The Food Bank of Delaware can’t feed the more than 117,000 food insecure Delawareans without a strong volunteer system. More volunteer opportunities can be found at www.fbd.volunteerhub.com.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *