Wynn Elementary pantry gets boost with donations

The emergency food pantry at Wynn Elementary School was missing something last month: food.

The Junior League of Las Vegas donated $2,500 worth of food and supplies to the school, 5655 Edna Ave., and will continue to donate $500 each month to refill the pantry.

The Container Store at Town Square Las Vegas, 6521 Las Vegas Blvd. South, also donated $1,500 worth of organizational products to the school's supplies closet, which is called the Family Resource Center.

Wynn Elementary furnishes needy students and families with clothing, shoes, sanitary items and more.

Irene Armenta, Wynn's site coordinator for Communities in Schools of Nevada, said she expects to help 30 to 40 families in dire need because of the donations.

CISN helps support students in low-income areas in the valley.

Families such as Kevin Osburn and his son Neil benefited from the donations.

"Ms. Irene's done a great job servicing the needs of the kids," Osburn said. "She's involved with all the kids, with my son. She makes sure his shoes fit."

The two live with Osburn's parents near the school. Osburn said he goes to a temporary labor agency at 4:30 every morning, hoping to get some work.

He was laid off years ago as an ad supervisor for a phone book company, he said.

"It's been a great help," Osburn said of the school. "I'd definitely be in a bigger hole than I am now without it."

The Family Resource Center is housed in a portable classroom on the school's playground.

The renovation by The Container Store will make people feel better about "shopping" there, Armenta said.

"We wanted to make it like a real shopping experience for families," she said. "We wanted to make it like a minimart."

The addition of a changing room, for example, will allow families to stay in the center instead of having to walk outside, into the school bathrooms and back again to try on clothes.

With 93 percent of Wynn students on the free and reduced lunch program, Armenta stressed that the school can always use help. Food, clothing, anything, she said.

"They can drop it off in front, anytime of the year," she said, "even during the summer, especially during the summer."

For more information, call 799-8160.

Contact View education reporter Jeff Mosier at jmosier@viewnews.com or 224-5524.