Ceremony set for permanent resource pantry serving students in need

WEST CHESTER » West Chester University’s Resource Pantry for students in need has found a permanent home on campus with fresh food, business attire services, and expanded space. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will celebrate the new space on Friday at 10 a.m. in Commonwealth Hall, 715 S. New Street in West Chester. Resource Pantry Student Ambassadors will lead tours of the space, which provides the extra room needed for a kitchen and refrigerator stocked with fresh food from the University’s South Campus and Tanglewood Gardens, as well as a room for toiletries and school supplies, a welcoming intake space for students, and even an area where donated desktop computers can be provided. WCU President Christopher Fiorentino and Chester County Food Bank Director of Agency & Community Partnerships Phoebe Kitson Davis, also a member of WCU’s Food Pantry Advisory Board, will be among those offering remarks during the ceremony.

As part of the Resource Pantry’s additional offerings, a new partnership is being celebrated that allows students to take advantage of a professional attire service designed to empower women in need through the donation of business clothing. On a biweekly basis, WCU Resource Pantry staff now transport students to Wings for Success, a nonprofit organization located in Frazer and Kennett Square, for consultations with professional stylists who coordinate business-savvy ensembles for their WCU student clients.

Prior to the recent move to Commonwealth Hall, the oneyear-old Resource Pantry was located in a compact space in Lawrence Hall, which it quickly outgrew. Since the start of classes this fall, 131 visits to the Resource Pantry have been made by students needing basic essentials, including non-perishable food. A food-drive is currently being held on campus to celebrate the pantry’s first birthday; those interested in making donations can email pantry@wcupa.edu.

The Resource Pantry resides within the Office of Service Learning & Volunteer Programs, and is supported by the Office of Financial Aid, Office of Student Affairs, and very generous donors through the WCU Foundation. More information about the Resource Pantry can be found at www.wcupa.edu/pantry.