When you don’t have a toothbrush or your clothes need washing, there’s shame attached. When it’s 10 degrees outside, you can’t get by on flip-flops. School can be hard enough, but when a child is poor and lacking everyday essentials, it can be impossible. In Missouri, 49 percent of public school children qualify for free or reduced lunch, a recognized indicator of poverty. But an organization called Care to Learn not only steps in to provide what is needed for a productive day’s learning, but it does so with kid-glove discretion. “The focus is on dignity,” says Care to Learn’s executive director Linda Ramey-Greiwe.
The nonprofit, based in Springfield, Missouri, was founded in 2008 by businessman Doug Pitt (brother of actor Brad) who was moved by the level of poverty he saw around him. It has 32 chapters in total, four of which are in the St. Louis region: St. Charles, Hazelwood and Warrenton school districts, and most recently, schools in Wright City. And any school staffer—faculty, bus drivers, administrators, nurses or counselors—can identify a child in need. “Having a Care to Learn chapter in the school means many hunger, health and hygiene issues can be addressed immediately,” Ramey-Greiwe explains. Mostly, the help comes in the form of vouchers for doctors, pharmacies, and Walmart, where older students can go to buy clothes they need. The organization also provides weekend backpacks of food for children in homes where food may be scarce.
The nonprofit fills other gaps, as well. “A student might have a prescription from a doctor, but no way of getting it to the pharmacy,” explains Annie Mayrose, Greater St. Louis Region director. Or a school might need help with other hunger-related expenses—breakfast or healthy snacks, which, in the absence of an organization like Care to Learn, often are shouldered by school staff. “An apple here, a granola bar there. It adds up,” Mayrose says. In a recent case, the nonprofit paid for one school’s infrastructure upgrade in the form of a salad bar, which allows the school to provide the freshest food possible.
There are around 27,000 students across Care to Learn’s four St. Louis chapters, and Mayrose stresses that any child, regardless of their situation, can receive assistance. While the numbers of free and reduced lunch recipients decrease in higher grades, this may not paint an accurate picture. “There’s stigma attached,” she says. “The older the child is, the less likely they are to self-identify as economically disadvantaged.”
On June 2, Care to Learn hosts its biggest annual fundraiser, A Glimpse of the Past to Brighten our Kids’ Futures, at the Busch Family Estate at Grant’s Farm, where guests will be invited to explore the family’s home and history with Billy Busch. Money raised supports the nonprofit’s administrative costs and helps establish new chapters. Once the chapter is up and running, Ramey-Greiwe explains, it becomes mostly self-sufficient, raising money through things like trivia nights and even payroll deductions. “The more funds we raise,” she says, “the more children we can help, the more suffering we can ease.”
Pictured: Care to Learn’s advisory board
Photo: Diane Anderson Photography
The Mission of Care to Learn is to provide immediate funding to meet emergent needs in the areas of health, hunger and hygiene so every student can be successful in school. On June 2, it hosts Glimpse the Past to Brighten our Kids’ Futures. Pictured on the cover: Donn Sorensen, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Jim Edmonds, Dr. Nettie Collins-Hart and Doug Pitt. For information and tickets, contact Annie Mayrose at 314.650.3820 or amayrose@caretolearnfund.org
Cover design by Allie Bronsky | Cover photo by Colin Miller of Strauss Peyton Photography
