WoodmenLife aids Carver Elementary

Local chapter donates $500 to meet students’ needs

As G.W. Carver Elementary School supports its students during distance learning through the provision of on-site support services, it has received some unexpected support of its own from outside.

A few weeks ago, WoodmenLife (formerly known as Woodmen of the World) Chapter 152

President Christopher Solomon paid a surprise visit to the school with a $500 donation in tow as part of the nonprofit organization’s national campaign to support education.

“We’re a small organization with very limited funds, but it’s one of the little things we can do to support our kids here in the community and their teachers,” Solomon said. “From year to year, when the funds are available, we try to support them in any way that we can.”

A native of Yuma and thus attuned to the needs of his community, Solomon is also married to a veteran schoolteacher; his wife worked within Yuma School District One (which houses Carver) for nearly 40 years, dividing her experience between Roosevelt and Pecan Grove elementary schools.

Solomon said that for him, supporting education is personal.

“Education for our children should be a No. 1 priority for everybody,” he said. “Carver is one of the most disadvantaged schools I’ve found here. It sits in a place where the tax rate isn’t really great, so their funding base is down on the lower end. They’re deprived of funds, and Arizona hasn’t been the greatest to fund schools compared to other states in the nation.

“I was born and raised here – I see where the needs are. We’re not giving away a million dollars or anything, but our chapter here in Yuma takes care of Yuma.”

The donation, according to Carver Principal Matt Buckley, will be used to meet students’ needs, identified by their teachers, upon the school’s return to in-person instruction.

The gift, he said, is indicative of where Yuma’s heart is.

“Mr. Solomon’s gift to the school – and any gift to the school, I think – just reflects what Yuma does for its schools,” said Buckley. “Yuma is a very giving community. This is my third year at Carver, and we have been blessed multiple times to have generous community members just walk in and support our school. It’s the nature of Yuma to give back and help support. It’s important for the community and the school to maintain that relationship – the school supports the community and the community supports the school.

“It’s a healthy, wonderful, reciprocal relationship. I think it’s valuable that we, as a community, keep our focus on making sure kids are successful and get the learning that they need and deserve.”