Feb. 27, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wharton County Junior College provides food and toiletries to students through the Pioneer Homestead pantry. Pictured gathering donations for the pantry donated by the Wharton Rotary Club are, from left, WCJC Counselor Shannon Glardon and WCJC's Director of Counseling and Disability Services Amber Barbee.
WHARTON, TEXAS – Wharton County Junior College is committed to helping students achieve their educational goals – and one of the ways the college is helping is by providing food, toiletries and clothes to students in need.
The Pioneer Homestead pantry provides requesting students a prepackaged bag containing everything from clothing detergent to toothpaste to food, while supplies last. Pantries are located at all four of the college’s campuses – Wharton, Bay City, Richmond and Sugar Land. The Pioneer Homestead opened in June of 2023 and gave out 119 bags the first month.
“Each month we hand out just shy of 200 bags across the four campuses,” said WCJC’s Director of Counseling and Disability Services Amber Barbee.
Barbee serves as lead on managing the pantry for the benefit of students at the college’s four campuses. She said the pantry developed after the counseling department noticed some students were wearing the same clothes week after week. When asked about this, the students said these were their only clothes – and they also could not afford to wash them.
“We found that they had access to washers and dryers but did not have money for detergent,” she said. “This led us to learning more information about them not having snacks, lunches and basic toiletries.”
WCJC Counselor Shannon Glardon said the pantry takes a proactive approach to helping students.
“We want to focus on preventative care and meeting basic needs,” Glardon said.
Items are provided by donations from entities such as the Wharton Rotary Club, the Wharton Lions Club and several local churches. A Dobson Foundation grant was secured as well. Clothing vouchers are provided by St. Thomas’ Thrift Shop in Wharton.
Barbee said WCJC faculty and staff also regularly support the pantry to keep the shelves filled.
“This resource is a perfect example of how several divisions and departments have come together to work for the best interests of our students,” she said.
The application process is a simple one as no proof of need is required. Students simply fill out the online form, indicate what sort of products they need and then drop by the pantry to collect their bag. Distributions are made on Wednesdays. The only stipulation is that students must submit the Request Form each time they need assistance.
Anyone interested in donating to the Homestead can do so by contacting WCJC’s Counseling Department at 979-532-6384 or by emailing counseling@wcjc.edu.
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