Brooklyn Center Schools Collect, Distribute Food After “Everything Is Boarded Up”
In a week marked by tragedy and anger, staff members from the Brooklyn Center School District have been a bright spot for those in need of comfort.
“The gas station was right across the street from my house, the Family Dollar’s right across the street from my house, and now we’re just looking over there and everything is just boarded up, it looks really depressing,” said Tiara Young, a Brooklyn Center resident. “We have to constantly travel far out just to go get groceries.”
With many Brooklyn Center businesses sustaining damage during the unrest after the police killing of Daunte Wright, the school district wanted to help.
“We here at Brooklyn Center, we’re an incredibly small community,” said Jakarta Turner, a community education manager from the district. “Our students and families and community have been greatly impacted.”
Answering the call
On Monday, the district set up a resource distribution center at Brooklyn Center High School for anyone in need of essential supplies. All week long, generous people from across the state have answered the call to help.
Volunteers rolled boxes of donated milk into Brooklyn Center High School’s gym.
“When times are tough, people are always willing to help,” said Kristi Peltier of Brooklyn Park, who donated a trunk full of boxes.
Every day from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., cars line up to drop off food, drinks, personal hygiene items, and other supplies. Meanwhile, an army of students and district staff organize the resources to get them ready for distribution.
“They organized this pretty fast, and I thank them for the support and coming out and helping the community,” said Young.
It’s a community that will need time to heal after the week’s events. The volunteers and donors here are hopeful that this can be a first step in the rebuilding process.
“I’m so proud to be able to service our community in the capacity that we have been, and just very excited to rebuild together,” Turner said.
The resource distribution center will be at Brooklyn Center High School for as long as people need it to be.
If you want to help, the district is asking people to check its social media pages for a list of needed items.
Brooklyn Center High School
