For the past nine years, we’ve been South High School parents.
Our kids have walked those halls, sat in those classrooms, gone to those games and made some of their closest friends there. So, when we talk about the South community, it isn’t something abstract to us. It’s our community, too. And within this community is a need I’m not sure everyone realizes exists.
Every Thursday after school, the Denver South Giving Grocery provides fresh food, pantry staples and personal care items to more than 200 South students. Two hundred kids. Every single week.
I think that number is worth sitting with for a minute. These are teenagers worrying about homework, friendships, college applications, sports, tests and all of the usual things that come with being a kid. It pains us to know they also worry about whether there is enough food at home.
The Giving Grocery at Sough quietly helps fill this gap. Their team of volunteers serves students of all backgrounds, identities, cultures, beliefs, and abilities, and they’re committed to providing an inclusive environment free from discrimination, or judgment.
We’ve decided to team up with our friends at the Wash Park East Neighborhood Association (WPENA) to help stock its shelves. And we’re asking our neighbors to help us.
From now through November 11, you’ll find our donation box at the Wash Park Recreation Center. The Giving Grocery is specifically asking for cereal, spaghetti sauce, jelly, toothpaste, deodorant, laundry pods or sheets, feminine hygiene products (pads), shampoo + conditioner and lotion. Nothing on this list is particularly glamorous. That’s kind of the point. It’s the everyday stuff most of us toss into our carts without thinking twice. But for a South student or family who needs it, that box of cereal or bottle of shampoo matters.
And if picking up extra items isn’t convenient, a monetary donation is another simple way to help. The Giving Grocery accepts financial donations that allow the team to purchase exactly what students and families need most. You can do so by visiting thegivinggrocery.org.
Most importantly, November 11 is only the end of our collection drive, not the end of the need. They serve South students throughout the school year, and there are plenty of ways to continue supporting it long after our box is packed up. We appreciate you helping us to take one worry off the plate of a South student.
Your neighbors,
Shaleen and Sam DeStefano