District awarded grant for TANF students
A couple weeks ago, WYHS Assistant Principal, Paul Smathers, received a mass email from Franklin County Job & Family Services. The email was sent to school districts in Franklin County regarding a grant opportunity. However, it was stressed that interested school districts must act fast as the money that was available had to be awarded before October 1st. The grant was to benefit students involved in the district’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.
Paul took it upon himself to take some time and apply for the grant not knowing if the district would be approved or even the amount of money that was available. The message Paul would receive just a few days later was nothing short of remarkable.
On Tuesday, September 23rd, Paul was notified that WCS was awarded a portion of the grant. Due to the minimal number of districts that applied for the grant, Whitehall benefitted by receiving more than their allotted share as all of the money available had to be given.
The grant was in association with Target and each child involved in the TANF program would receive a voucher to be spent on specific items such as school supplies and clothing. As a result of being approved for the grant, Paul was notified that each of those Whitehall students would receive a voucher for $475 to be spent at Target. Needless to say, Paul was shocked.
This was tremendous news, but at the same time, he had very little time to organize the shopping days and get the word out to parents. With the help of the YMCA, who partners in our TANF after school programming, they created a flyer to give to parents in person and also sent an email and called the families.
Paul scheduled a couple shopping days on Friday, September 26th, and Saturday, September 27th, at the Target in Whitehall. With the help of Franklin County Jobs & Family Services and the YMCA, Paul set up a table at Target and greeted people as they came in. They had to sign in at the table to verify their child was in the TANF program to receive their voucher.
There were so many people that participated in this voucher redemption that they cleared out most of the merchandise on the list at the Whitehall location. So much so that they scheduled a make-up date of Monday, September 29th, at the Easton location for families that missed it or were not able to purchase school supplies due to them being out of stock.
A total of 107 vouchers were given to Whitehall families totaling $50,825 over those three days. One family had as many as six children involved in the program that received vouchers.
There was a lot of hugging, a lot of crying, and a lot of good feelings that weekend. Through this grant, families were able to provide some needed clothing and school supplies for their children. It was a great weekend for our district.
Thank you, Mr. Smathers (pictured). And many thanks to Franklin County Commissioners Marilyn Borwn, Paula Brooks, and John O’Grady, Director of Franklin County Job & Family Services, Vivian Turner and Assistant Director, Angela Wheatley, Target, and the YMCA.