It’s fair to say Wright State assists many of our students in need. One service that Wright State provides is the Friendship Food Pantry. The pantry offers food and toiletry items for those in need. This service is important for students who cannot afford the necessities of life. One group that helps the pantry run is the boys-2-MEN Mentoring Group.
In 2011, the boys-2-MEN Mentoring Group, a part of the WPAFB (Wright-Patterson Air Force Base) Chapel Community, donated large amounts of items to the pantry.
Joyce Smith, WSU’s Insurance Benefits Coordinator, linked the services. While volunteering at the pantry, Smith, a member of the WPAFB Chapel, offered the mentees of the group an opportunity to help WSU.
She told them about the pantry and ways they could help. Now the mentees collect the goods and bring them to WSU as an outreach activity.
“We plan continuing this as an annual outreach activity,” said Derrick Langley, President of the boys-2-MEN Mentoring Group.
“We have to provide monthly activities to enhance the life skills of the young men. This entails planning activities for the year and services announcing activities for the men,” Langley said.help boys age 7-17 in the community through service, faith and social skills. According to Langley, the program has existed for over 15 years and continues to improve.
Langley also assures that all mentors must go through a background check and be current active duty military and civilians from WBAFB.
“We look for mentors to the mentees. Mentors help mentees with devotionals, hygiene, sports, planning for camp activities, museum trips, cooking, helping at homeless shelters and food pantries, car repairs and handyman projects,” Langley said.
According to Smith, the boys-2-MEN
The group mentors at Rosa Parks pre-K to Grade 8 school on a weekly basis, and helps the Holt Street Food Pantry during their Thanksgiving Basket Food Drive in November. As for the Friendship Food Pantry on campus, the service is announced every Sunday for the need of food and aid.
“One day the boys brought in 30 big bags of food,” Smith said.
This program continues to evolve and better the boys and mentors involved, as well as the community around them. They are an example of what service is all about.
Contact the Food Pantry at 937-775-2495 to learn more about their services. They are near the Hangar, room 134 in Allyn Hall.
