Sentinel Lakewood
May 30, 2013
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourlakewoodnews.com
Jefferson County, Colorado • Volume 89, Issue 42
Nonprofit Elephant Talk delivers Event brings 90,000 pounds of food to community residents By Clarke Reader
creader@ourcoloradonews.com
Patterson International Elementary students are welcomed into the newly designed library by Target team members who helped build and organize the library. Photos by Clarke Reader
Target hits the mark with new library Patterson’s library upgraded By Clarke Reader
creader@ourcoloradonews. com Students gasped and pointed, their eyes wide with excitement as they walked into Patterson International Elementary’s newly designed library for the first time. They were met by a tunnel of cheering Target employees, who have working for the past month to redesign and supply the school’s library. On Friday, May 24, Target, The Heart of America Foundation and Target Meals for Minds unveiled the library and food pantry they donated to the school as part of the Target team members stock the bookshelves in Patterson’s newly designed library. Target School Library Makeover program. Patterson received two produce and staple foods to year we’ll have donated to thousand books, upgraded Patterson families. 175 libraries and this is our technology — including iPads “We really want to focus fifth library in Colorado.” for the school — and a new on early childhood developThe school applied for the design, as well as a stocked ment,” said Mark Everett, program and was selected food pantry that will provide director of Target stores for based on its needs and it’s more than 22 pounds of fresh Colorado. “By the end of this core reading program. According to Patterson’s teacher librarian Ryan Livingston, representatives visited several schools in the area before selecting Patterson as the school for this year. “This is really fantastic because it allows us to get some things we need,” Livingston said. Not only will students at the school benefit for the program, but the library will be open on Wednesdays in the summer for the entire community to use it. Principal Beth Larson said the library is the hub of the school, and so working with the Target team toward imSen. Andy Kerr speaks to first -graders about the importance of Patterson’s new provement has been great. library.
On hand for the library’s opening was Sen. Andy Kerr (D-Lakewood) and Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-Lakewood), as well as Matthew Cormier, executive director of Jeffco school’s library services. “What an incredible day here at Patterson,” Kerr said. “As a parent, I want to thank Ryan Livingston for opening the library up so neighborhood kids can use the library as well.” All students at the school received a backpack with seven new books, that were put together by the Target team members. “The team that we’ve had working on this project has been so crucial throughout,” Everett said. “We wanted these kids to have these books as their own that they could take home and experience on their own.”
The Action Center was the hub for 12 other food pantries to collect their share of more than 90,000 pounds of frozen food on Wednesday, May 22. Working with Elephant Talk — a local nonprofit obtains food from grocery stores and markets and delivers it to local pantries for free — volunteers and staff at the center helped pantries like the Arvada Community Food Bank, Denver Rescue Mission and Metro CareRing stock up on frozen food including blueberries, potatoes and bacon. “The importance of days like this is on multiple levels,” said Mag Strittmatter, executive director for the center. “Elephant Talk is a wonderful provider of food for an entire network of pantries, and this is a demonstration of how collaboration is for all of us.” Randy Harris, Elephant Talk cofounder with his wife Sandy Sommers, founded the organization about five years ago, after they both saw a need for children and families who don’t get enough food. “We use big commercial refrigerated trucks, and are the primary supplier to many of the largest pantries in the metro area,” Harris said. “We deliver about 50 to 80 tons of food a week, and we’ve spent about a half million dollars from our own pockets into the organization.” Elephant Talk has built up relationships with wholesalers and grocery stores to obtain the food they need. According to Harris, a lot of the food Elephant Talk donates is dairy, produce and meats, which he said were severely lacking in most food donations. As cars from various food pantries rolled up to the Action Center, workers were able to pick out which items they needed, and create pallets full of food. Then volunteers helped them load up. Not all volunteers helping were with the Action Center, however. Teacher Tony Hughes and several of senior students from McLain High School were on hand to help build and load pallets for organizations. This kind of participation reinforces Strittmatter’s opinion of the day. “There is a whole tapestry of pantries and organizations willing to help, and all of this allows us to facilitate events like this so we can share the food,” she said. “This is a happy, happy day for everyone.” For more information on the Action Center, visit www.theactioncenter.org and for information on Elephant Talk, visit www.elephanttalk.org.
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