Just a Call Away

BY TINA V. BRYSON

In a sea of orange Hunger Walk shirts, Carrie Ballinger stood out. She wore the red and blue colors of Rockcastle County Schools (RCS), face mask with logo included. Ballinger was the embodiment of what she seeks to instill in her students through academics, community service, and advocacy. Be who you are with excellence and stand out.

“We partner with Christian Appalachian Project (CAP) because we have the same mission,” said Ballinger, who started as an elementary school teacher and became superintendent in July 2020. “CAP works to make sure the community is well fed and that supports are in place to help people thrive. We do the same for our students each day.”

Students from the school district have increased their participation in CAP’s annual Hunger Walk each September since its inception nine years ago. Staff and administrators at each school support student efforts to collect thousands of pounds of food each year during Hunger Awareness Month, and hundreds of elementary through high school students walk in the event in downtown Mount Vernon, Kentucky.

“When the pandemic first started, it was a very uncertain time,” Ballinger noted. “We partnered with CAP by providing resources like refrigerated items that we couldn’t use because schools were closed. CAP, in turn, helped us meet the needs of our families.”

We partner with CAP because we have the same mission. CAP works to make sure the community is well fed and that supports are in place to help people thrive. We do the same for our students each day.

— Carrie Ballinger

Robert Phillips, principal of Rockcastle Middle School; Robyn Renner, director of CAP’s Disaster Relief; and Carrie Ballinger, superintendent of Rockcastle County Schools, led the efforts at the warming center housed in the middle school following the recent ice storm.

In the early weeks of COVID-19 restrictions, CAP’s Grateful Bread Food Pantry continued to pack weekend backpacks to make sure that children had food. Crates of milk and other perishable items were donated to the pantry from the school district. Pantry staff and RCS family resource coordinators worked together to ensure that families didn’t fall through the cracks.

“One out of every four students in our schools is food insecure,” Ballinger said. “The backpacks help our elementary and middle school students. We know that we have a high number of students with food insecurities. We are appreciative of the service that CAP provides to these families.” The high school students don’t receive backpacks, but families can be referred to Grateful Bread in order to receive a pantry food box as needed. But the students are also learning to give back. Each year, students from the Honors Club at Rockcastle County High School have partnered with CAP to provide service hours in packing commodity food boxes for senior members of the community.

“We are proud of the opportunity our students have to give back to their own community,” Ballinger explained. “If we can instill in them the value of community service and leadership, that is a lifelong lesson that they will have.”

Sherri Barnett, the manager of Grateful Bread Food Pantry and the Grateful Threadz Thrift Store, and her staff work to meet weekly needs of students as well as emergency needs. Family Resource Coordinators can call the thrift store when a student needs clothes for school, a winter coat, or shoes. Her staff also works during prom season to make sure that young ladies who need assistance have formal dresses that will make their special night memorable.

“I want to brag on Sherri and her staff because they are so responsive to Rockcastle County Schools,” Ballinger stated. “They are always available. All we have to do is pick up the phone, and they are always ready to work with us. It’s just a true partnership and something we are very, very proud of.”