More Laker students than ever rely on the Replenish Basic Needs Center for help, whether they need to supplement their groceries, borrow a laptop or receive a warm coat during the winter clothing drive.
To help meet the growing need, the community can participate in Giving Tuesday by donating food and personal care items or by contributing to the Replenish Student Food Resource Fund. Giving Tuesday, the national philanthropic day of giving after Thanksgiving and Black Friday, is December 2.
Mimi Sperl, assistant director of the Center for Women and Gender Equity, oversees Replenish. Sperl said the pause in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program correlated with a spike in Replenish users. During the first two weeks of November, 61 new users visited Replenish, compared to 24 during the first two weeks of October.
"When it's challenging to purchase groceries, it's going to be challenging for students to thrive in their classes or internships," Sperl said. "Replenish helps remove those barriers for students so that they can re-focus on learning, both inside and beyond the classroom.”
The Replenish Basic Needs Center has two locations: Kirkhof Center, room 0073, has capacity to accommodate personal hygiene items, frozen and refrigerated goods; Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences, room 347, can accommodate limited freezer/refrigerated goods.
A record 2,500 Lakers have relied on Replenish over the past year. Below are ways that Lakers can help other Lakers.
