Every year, Lakota schools encourage students to donate goods to Reach Out Lakota, a local organization that strives to aid families in need all around the community. However, every year it seems participation from students seems to decrease, despite the incentives and rewards that are offered. Many of Lakota’s students seem to be familiar with Reach Out Lakota, but do they know how vitally important it is to families in the community? 

Founded in 1992, Reach Out Lakota’s goal is to provide an outlet for families struggling in the community. Through connecting with people in the area, local businesses, churches, and schools, ROL has grown to be a staple provider for families in need in Liberty Township and West Chester. Though ROL does receive a great deal of support from the community, it is crucial for Lakota West to participate in drives, like Stuff the Bus. On ROL’s website, it states that they “rely heavily on the Lakota Local School communities for financial and in-kind support.” Therefore, it is important for students to help ROL fill their supplies.

Though many of the students here at West only know Reach Out Lakota to collect cans, they provide much beyond that. ROL provides “healthy food options, clothing and small household goods, supplements (paper goods, personal hygiene and infant care products, cleaning products, etc.) as well as, financial and computer literacy programs.” In 2019 alone, 8205 people were served, 1754 visits occurred, and 152,550 pounds of food was collected, with 133 days open out of the year. 

You may not know it, but many students here at West benefit from Reach Out Lakota. West’s community liaison, Kim Huston, stated that ROL “is a tremendous support to many of our Lakota West high school families and a significant number of Lakota families in general.” She explained how she remembered how a grandmother went to Reach Out Lakota and was not only given clothing, but dishes, Christmas decorations, bedding and other household items. Since she was raising her grandchildren on a fixed income, ROL is where she can continually rely on because it helps her so much.

– Lacey Jones