At Valley Oaks Elementary School in Houston, Texas, if a student has a negative balance on their lunch accounts, they are given a cold cheese sandwich instead of a warm tray of food. As television affiliate KPRC reports, more than 60 students couldn’t afford to pay the 40 cents a day that would allow them a hot meal. When local tutor and mentor Kenny Thompson learned about the reduced lunch program at his son’s school, he sprung to action.
Thompson, who has worked with Valley Oaks students for 10 years, opened up his own wallet and paid off the $465 needed to zero out the delinquent accounts. “These are elementary school kids. They don’t need to be worried about finances,” he told KPRC. “They need to be worried about what grade they got in spelling.”
MORE: How Much Food Could Be Rescued if College Dining Halls Saved Their Leftovers?
According to the report, Thompson learned that many of these kids would rather go hungry than be seen with their reduced meals. Can you imagine how these kids felt as they ate their meager lunches in front of their better-off classmates? Thompson’s generous gesture ensured that all students at his school were getting the nutrition they need to stay healthy. “When I left the building knowing that they were getting fed, they didn’t have that stress,” he said. “The best money I ever spent.” We couldn’t agree more.
Tag: Mentoring
Teach Her to Raise a Goat, And She Just Might End Up a Scientist
If you want your daughter to study science or engineering in college, maybe you should start by enrolling her in an organization that can teach her how to raise a prize pig, put together a photography portfolio, or sew a quilt. Membership in 4-H, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture-sponsored organization for kids and teenagers (a staple at county fairs), has been shown to increase girls’ participation in science and technology activities. A Tufts University study found that 10th grade girls in 4-H are two times more likely to take part in science programs, and 12th grade girls in 4-H are three times more likely to do so. Now 4-H has joined the Million Women Mentors initiative that aims to match a million mentors with specialties in science, technology, engineering and math to girls across the country. Women make up 48 percent of the workforce, but only 24 percent of them hold jobs in STEM fields, numbers that 4-H aims to improve with this program, along with continuing to help kids raise some prize-winning goats.
MORE: When People Said Minorities Weren’t Interested in Science, This Guy Proved Them Wrong