Dongola Unit School District #66
DONGOLA, IL (WSIL) - A local School nurse is fighting that by helping students have food when they go home.
Some kids depend on school meals to get their food for the day.
After a long day of learning it's nice to go home, grab a snack, do homework, and then sit down for a nice meal, before going back to school again in the morning.
But that's not the case for all students, including some in Dongola’s School district.
“We had several students who would come in right before they leave and say, do you have anything I can eat, I'm hungry,� says Julia Thrower, nurse for Dongola School.
"Well, after I talked to them a little bit further, I discovered that some of them come home to empty homes because their parents are not there,� Thrower says.
Thrower found a way to help by creating a pantry in part of her room, and every other week she fills about 60 bags of food to give to the students.
“We don't want them to be without anything that they need to survive,� Thrower says.
And Thrower is serious about that, she even has a free closet full of clothes for kids.
“If they need their clothes washed, we'll help 'em with that. If they need personal care items, we'll help 'em find some. If they're hungry, we'll give 'em food. We wanna help so that they can learn at their fullest potential,� Thrower says.
And this isn't a solo effort. Thrower says she’s been filling bags for three months now, and has gotten donations from the Laborers Local 773, and the Fowler Bonan Foundation.
Co-founder Senator Dale Fowler shared that his foundation wants to continue helping the school.
“And now, since we've done that, we've found out that there's some other schools going through similar situations,� Fowler says. So we've just begun trying to collect some additional donations and also being able to supply these children with food because we can't allow these children to not have proper nutrition�
Thrower shares she is inspired by a nurse she had when she was in school, and like most educators, she helps where she can.
“Because I have a heart for those in need. Groceries are expensive now, even for those of us who have regular incomes, and some of our families have a struggle. We have a lot of single parents, we have grandparents raising grandchildren and there's just a special need for food,� Thrower says.
Senator Fowler says around Thanksgiving, he wants to help send the kids home with a Thanksgiving meal.
