February 12, 2019
Participating in the ribbon-cutting ceremony for East Central Community College’s new campus food pantry sponsored by the college’s Theta Chi Chapter of Phi Beta Lambda were (from left) Dr. Teresa Mackey, vice president for instruction; Justin Wilcher of Philadelphia, president of Theta Chi Chapter of PBL; Christy Ferguson, business technology instructor and PBL advisor; Caleb McGrew of Meridian, PBL member; and Dr. Billy Stewart, college president. Warrior POST (Providing Others Support Together) will provide free non-perishable food items and other life necessities to currently enrolled students with demonstrated need. It is located in Room 211 of the Tucker Applied Technology Center on the campus in Decatur. (EC Photo)
East Central Community College held a ribbon-cutting ceremony today (Feb. 12, 2019) for a new campus food pantry sponsored by the college’s Theta Chi Chapter of Phi Beta Lambda.
Warrior POST (Providing Others Support Together) will provide free non-perishable food items and other life necessities to currently enrolled students with demonstrated need. It is located in Room 211 of the Tucker Applied Technology Center on the campus in Decatur.
The idea originated from ECCC academic counselors Lanette Hanna and Jennifer Savell, who recognized the need during conversations with students on campus.
“After talking with dorm residents who are not able to go home every weekend, we realized that some of our students don’t always have access to food or a seven-day meal plan. We began tossing around the idea about how to establish a food pantry to accommodate these students,” Hanna said.
Savell added, “We decided to ask Christy Ferguson, one of the Phi Beta Lambda sponsors, if that organization would be interested in adopting the food pantry as a service project. Christy was more than willing to assist and get the ball rolling. She has been instrumental in the development of this project. The food pantry will be an asset to ECCC students who might be experiencing hunger in silence. We hope this is just the beginning phase of how we can help our students.”
Ferguson said, “Our ultimate goal is to have ‘students feeding students.’ We hope not only to feed them physically, but mentally and spiritually as well.”
To apply for assistance, students must complete and submit an online application form, which is available at www.eccc.edu/warrior-post. Once the application is approved, the student will be contacted through his or her ECCC email account. Donated items may be picked up from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on the first and third Thursday and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the first and third Friday of each month while school is in session.
Recipients must print, read, sign, and date a Waiver of Liability form, located on the webpage and bring it on the first visit.
Recipients will be asked to attend two workshops within two months to continue to receive donations. Workshops will include Financial Literacy, Eating Healthy, and Employment Procedures, among other topics. Online registration will be available for the workshops.
Any person or organization can make donations of non-perishable food items and other necessities to the Warrior POST food pantry. Canned food drives by ECCC student organizations and local organizations to support Warrior POST are encouraged.
For more information or to see a list of currently needed items in the food pantry, please visit the website www.eccc.edu/warrior-post, or contact warriorpost@eccc.edu. Ferguson can be reached at 601-635-6292 or by email at cferguson@eccc.edu.
PBL is a national business education association for students interested in careers in business and business-related fields. It is the largest career student organization in the world.
