Card Campaign Helps Students

Annie Bachmayer, a Lincoln Junior High School volleyball player, works to fill bags with hygiene products at Mary Mae Jones Elementary School in Bentonville.
Annie Bachmayer, a Lincoln Junior High School volleyball player, works to fill bags with hygiene products at Mary Mae Jones Elementary School in Bentonville.

— A few missed work days make a difference on Amanda Fletcher’s household budget. The single mother of three said she is a thankful for the Community Christmas Card campaign, which helped her through a difficult time this year.

The annual campaign sponsored by NWA Media is one way readers can help local school districts provide basic needs for students.

Money from the campaign helps local school districts fill financial gaps. The money can be used to purchase medication, pay for medical and dental visits, clothing, hygiene products, transportation, utilities or pay the fees needed for students to participate in school events or sports.

At A Glance

Homeless Population

The Rogers and Bentonville School Districts track homeless students that attend their schools. Students living without shelther or in homes with multiple families, a hotel, shelter or in substandard housing are considered homeless. Unaccompanied youth are also tracked as being homeless.

Rogers has a total of 142 homeless students. Bentonville has 281.

Free and Reduced-Price Lunch

The free and reduced-price lunch population in the Bentonville and Rogers School Districts has grown in recent years.

Last year 59 percent of Rogers families qualified. This year 61 percent of students in the district qualify.

Twenty-eight percent of Bentonville’s students received free and reduced lunch at this time last year. Currently 30 percent of students qualify for the program.

Fletcher of Bentonville said a lack of insurance and disposable income prompted her to work while she had bronchitis. The illness turned into walking pneumonia, which caused her to miss work for three weeks in late September and early October.

“I was just toughing it out,” Fletcher said of her battle with bronchitis. “All and all, from start to finish, I was out sick for three weeks. I went back to work sick because I needed to make money for rent.”

She was unable to purchase a $185 medication for her youngest son.

“I felt bad that I couldn’t do it, but there was no way,” Fletcher said. “It is difficult being a single mom. You feel like you are all alone sometimes, but you have to take it as it comes. You try to deal with it one day at a time, as it comes daily. You have to have priorities.”

Fletcher said her son would have difficulty attending school without the medication. She filed for Medicaid, but a month-delay in service left a gap in payment.

A teacher who works with Fletcher’s son realized the need and contacted district social worker Julie Bachmayer, who used money from the Community Christmas Card to purchase the medication in October.

“Without this program, I didn’t know how I was going to fix it. Taking one thing off the plate helped. I am very thankful,” Fletcher said.

Bachmayer said money from the campaign helps families in numerous ways.

“At this moment, Bentonville has 281 homeless students,” Bachmayer said. “It breaks your heart. These kids have such needs that school is not as important. When you think of their hierarchy of needs, they have to think about clothing, food and housing. If we can somehow meet those needs, then sometimes school is back at the top of that list.”

There is a rising need in the district and limited resources, Bachmayer said.

The Rogers School District has a large student population that is in need, said Patsy Roycroft, social worker. Inadequate housing makes it hard for children to focus on their studies during the day, she said. Homelessness can be perceived as the alcoholic who lives under a bridge, but the broader definition used by schools can be two families doubled up in one home with children sleeping in pallets on the floor. Sometimes they have just moved into the area and are trying to get back on their feet.

“You have people who are losing their jobs, and they're moving in with family,” Roycroft said.

Clothing can be a part of student grades. In physical education classes, students are expected to “dress out” and athletic shoes are part of the uniform. Roycroft has seen children who come to elementary school with only hand-me-down dress shoes.

“It's good to get out and get exactly what kids need,” Roycroft said.

The Bentonville and Rogers school districts depend mostly on community donations and support to provide resources for students in need.

Last year, 16 school districts divided $25,212.84 in contributions from the Community Christmas Card campaign. The donations are divided between every school in Benton and Washington counties. Those who donate can designate which district will receive their donation.

“Our readers always respond in great numbers when the Christmas Card program rolls around each year,” Rusty Turner, editor and publisher of NWAMedia, said. “We are pleased to provide them with this opportunity to help local children. I know they will come through again.”

NWA Media partners with Springdale’s Endeavor Foundation to collect and distribute the Community Christmas Card donations. Each contribution is tax-deductible. NWA Media pays the processing fees for the donations so 100 percent of the money collected can be distributed to the schools. 

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