Liz and Scott Landrigan decorated their house with a holiday light display for the community to enjoy and put out a bucket to collect food donations as a way of attracting more donations
Woodland Public Schools’ Family Community Resource Center (FCRC) teamed up with a husband-and-wife team to run a community-wide neighborhood project to benefit families in need throughout Woodland.
Elizabeth “Liz” Landrigan, secretary at Columbia Elementary School, and her husband, Scott Landrigan, Safety and Facilities director for Woodland Public Schools, organized and ran a food drive in December to help provide “Winter Break” boxes with enough food and supplies to get families in need through the two-week break where district food services shut down for the holidays.
Liz and Scott decorated their house with a brilliant holiday light display for the community to enjoy and put out a bucket to collect food donations as a way of attracting more donations. “We wanted to raise food to help our area students and families in need, so when I found out the FCRC received more requests for assistance than it had the supplies to support due to the pandemic, I knew how we could help,” said Liz. “I messaged all our neighbors to let them know where the food would be going and also joined in a staff meeting at Columbia Elementary School to ask my colleagues to contribute.”
Thanks to the Landrigans’ hard work and the community’s generous donations, the FCRC put together enough Winter Break boxes to supply 10 area families with enough food and supplies to provide for them throughout the entire two-week holiday break. Each box was filled with pasta, sauce, breakfast supplies, snacks, and canned vegetables, fruits, beans, and meat.
“We provided meals for at least 34 students thanks to those Winter Break boxes,” explained Gabrielle “Gabby” Meador, director of the district’s Family Community Resource Center (FCRC). “Additionally, the food drive completely stocked our shelves so we can continue providing for our families throughout the rest of the school year.”
Meador credits Liz and Scott for the success of the drive. “This project was entirely a result of their love’s labor,” she said. “We’re so grateful for the Woodland community who always comes out and supports area students and families by helping organizations like the FCRC.”
Community members who missed donating during the food drive can always donate food or school supplies by simply contacting Meador at the FCRC. “Unfortunately, we cannot accept clothing donations at this time, however laundry soap is always in high demand and runs out quickly around here.”
About Woodland Public Schools’ FCRC
The Woodland Public Schools Family Community Resource Center (FCRC) provides resources and services to students and their families in need who live in either Cowlitz or Clark counties. In addition to annual events like the Back-to-School Bash which provides free backpacks filled with school supplies to hundreds of area students, the FCRC also offers a variety of other programs and services to students and families including the free Food Pantries program, assistance finding employment and residential solutions as well as much more.
“Our goal is to connect the under-resourced families we serve with the organizations offering help in Clark and Cowlitz counties,” explained Meador. “We want to help families line up jobs and get work so they may improve their lives.”
The FCRC follows up with families throughout the year to ensure they receive the assistance that they need most. “I check in with the nearly 70 families in our McKinney-Vento program on a quarterly basis to directly offer food and other services to them,” said Meador. “Our school counselors and social workers also provide referrals of families for me to help.”
The FCRC establishes partnerships with local nonprofit organizations to provide resources and assistance to homeless students and families as simply locating affordable housing opportunities can present huge barriers to low-income families. Under-resourced families and students who qualify for the McKinney-Vento Education of Homeless Children and Youth Assistance Act, a federal law created to ensure the enrollment and educational stability of homeless children and youth, are the top priority.
“Our goal is to connect the under-resourced families we serve with the organizations offering help in Clark and Cowlitz counties,” said Meador. “We want to help families find stable housing and get work so they may improve their lives.”
To find more information about services offered by the FCRC or to find ways you can support the FCRC, you can visit the Woodland Public Schools website at www.woodlandschools.org/fcrc, email Gabrielle “Gabby” Meador at meadorg@woodlandschools.org, or call the FCRC at (360) 841-2718. Spanish-speaking families can reach the FCRC’s Spanish-speaker by calling (360) 841-2918.
Learn more about how Woodland Public Schools educates students and serves the community, by visiting our dedicated news webpage at www.woodlandschools.org/news/wsd
Stay informed with the latest updates about the eventual transition from remote learning to in-person learning and more about COVID-19 at Woodland Public Schools’ dedicated website: www.woodlandschools.org/covid-hq
Information provided by Woodland School District.
