The First Generation Student Organization (FGSO) believes that it is a privilege to give back to a community, especially because many of our members are trying to break the barrier of having minimal resources or help. The FGSO fosters an environment that is inclusive and supportive for everyone and anyone even though FGSO’s main focus is on students who identify as first generation to attend college and/or as low income (FGLI), which is nearly a quarter of the student campus body.
With this in mind, the FGSO has been partnered using the community outreach program with an organization that many of our members can relate to while providing support and bettering Wooster as a whole. The First Generation Student Organization is partnered with People to People Ministries, which is located downtown on Beall Ave. People to People Ministries is an all-encompassing non-profit that offers comprehensive financial assistance, clothing options, food and supplies and even a restaurant for people who are facing the impacts of food insecurity, poverty and low income. People to People focuses and instills dignity in their patrons by using approaches that many other non-profits and organizations have yet to adopt. The food pantry is similar to walking into a grocery store. There are shopping carts provided along with grocery bags. The clothing is separated into mini departments with checkout registers compared to racks filled with random, unsorted products. The restaurant provides individualized menus where other places often only offer two options with no choice or alteration allowed. Furthermore, People to People hosts monthly workshops that hone and promote skills people are able to use to further their career. People to People makes paperwork easy and provides clear solutions and paths, which is often difficult to come by in organizations.
Many FGLI students have faced similar circumstances when family members used EBT, WIC or SNAP benefits due to low income. The responsibility and pressure of using a food pantry can be one that lowers self-esteem and self-worth based on a society that views poverty and low income as key identifiers of a person. The stigmatization of poverty is something that permeates across the United States and even within higher educational institutions. The FGSO is helping community members who may not have had the privilege to attend college, earn a higher salary paying job or be able to afford basic household items. These areas often resonate to students who identify as FGLI.
The experiences that come with being involved in a community outreach program are indescribable. Students are able to connect personally with community members and restore the humanity and faith that is often lost during economic hardships. FGSO members interact with regular people that happen to be undergoing life changes and alleviate the stigma that comes with poverty. Volunteers play with children while their parent(s) or guardian(s) shop or file paperwork, students organize and stock shelves and most importantly pay close attention to the children’s department by participating in Santa’s Workshop.
The outreach program is something that every student organization, club or academic group should take advantage of. Programs that are offered allow students and community members to interact with one another in a different way that diminishes the separation of the Wooster bubble. The FGSO has gained a valuable connection that will last. People to People Ministries is a non-profit that aligns with our defining characteristics and emphasized. The FGSO believes that the only way FGLI students issues can be addressed is by lifting others that face similar circumstances that other FGLI students, parents/guardians, and different generations encounter in a system that perpetuates systemic poverty and the other when it comes to who has less or more. People to People Ministries is a safe place within Wooster, Ohio for people to come to who are enduring hardships and has made The FGSO better for it.
Annelisea Brand, a Contributing Writer for the Voice, can be reached for comment at ABrand21@wooster.edu.