Central Physical Education teacher Nicole Eisenbeil has been collecting donations for the Panther Pantry for a few years now. However, she has recently decided to take things up a notch.
Eisenbeil created a yoga class for the staff at Central. “I wanted to find a way to give something back to the community,” Eisenbeil. Realizing the many benefits of yoga, Eisenbeil is offering her services to the Central staff.
Not only is yoga beneficial, it is also a great way to collect donations for the Panther Pantry. “I thought, why not do something that's going to benefit the students and their families in our district,” Eisenbeil said.
Her yoga class began on February 17 and will continue to be held on either a Tuesday or Wednesday from 3:15-4 p.m. after school. “When participants come to the class, they can either make a monetary donation or provide an item that the pantry needs,” Eisenbeil said.
The yoga classes are not just for the staff at Central, Eisenbeil offers a yoga club on Monday’s during flex for students who are interested as well.
The Panther Pantry has been collecting items to feed families in Central since
September 2014. The first time Central distributed to families was October, 2014. “We always knew there were families in need, just by working with learners every day. Mr. Wagner’s challenge in June 2014 gave us the spark to do something about it,” said Regina Peckmann, founder of Central’s Panther Pantry.
Former school board president, Mike Wagner, issued a challenge to the staff back in June 2014. “He challenged the staff to help feed the learners in our district who might need some extra help,” said Peckmann.
Every month the Panther Pantry helps around 60 to 70 families throughout Central. It is open from 5-6pm on the third Tuesday of each month. “I think that they do a good job of advertising about it and getting the word out about the pantry, so i hope that the people that need it most are being helped,” said Eisenbeil.
To get involved with the Panther Pantry, students at the high school can bring in items or can attend Flex time clubs that check expiration dates on the refrigerated items that teachers and students donate.
“The pantry’s main purpose is to provide nourishment and household supplies to families in need in Central York School District,” said Peckmann.
Every month, a Girl Scout troop comes to the Panther Pantry to check expiration dates and help stock the shelves. The Girl Scouts adopted the Panther Pantry for their Silver Award Project and are in the process of creating a bookshelf. This new addition to the pantry will allow families to take or exchange books every month, along with getting their usual donations.
The Panther Pantry will continue to grow each month as more people become involved and more donations are brought in. Unfortunately, there is limited space at the high school to open up the Pantry to other families in need throughout York County. “Since all of the donations come from Central York families and staff, the Panther Pantry is currently restricted to Central York families and staff. We do not have the space or resources to open the pantry to others outside of Central,” said Peckmann.
Join Nicole Eisenbeil in her weekly yoga classes and contribute to the community by bringing in donations.
It does not matter how small or how big the donation is, every contribution brings Central one step closer to yet another satisfied family.