BB&T Bank invests $150,000 to feed homeless students and families

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

BB&T generously invested $150,000 to provide transporation and food to  homeless and low-income students and families in Orange County. In addition to providing Lynx passes for students to get to school as families move from one location to another, funds also sponsor 21 of the 53 Love Pantries in Orange County Public Schools.

The Love Pantry is an initiative of the Christian Service Center for Central Florida, in cooperation with Orange County Public Schools with initial funding through the Love Orlando Fund established by First Baptist Church of Orlando. The purpose is to provide struggling families with emergency food.      
 
 Each school is provided with a lockable cabinet stocked with basic food items. When a student/family is in need, any school staff member can go to the cabinet to get enough food for several family meals. Families also are referred to community agencies to help get them back on the path to self-sufficiency.     
 
The BB&T sponsored Love Pantry locations include:     
Apopka Middle
Audubon Park Elementary
Dr. Phillips High
East River High
Freedom High
Glenridge Middle
Howard Middle
Killarney Elementary
Lockhart Middle School
Memorial Middle
Oak Ridge High
Oakshire Elementary
Palmetto Elementary
Pine Hills Elementary
Robinswood Middle
Shingle Creek Elementary
University High
Ventura Elementary
West Orange High School
Zellwood Elementary

Kids' Closet (centralized location)
 

This school year, 5420 students have been identified as homeless in the Orange County Public Schools system. The Foundation for Orange County Public Schools holds the Homeless Services Fund for the district which, in addition to providing food and transportation, pays for things such as school field trips, year books, prom tickets and clothes all in an effort to provide some normalcy during a time that is anything but normal for these families.     

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