Glen R. Nielsen, Principal, Northwood
Elementary
They say that there are no
free lunches in life, I’m here to say that they are wrong.
I’m extremely happy to share with you Mr.
Jared Hansen, Manager of Village Inn,
Spenard. Jared and the folks at Village
Inn
are first year school business partners
with
Northwood Elementary. At the beginning
of
the school year I had called Village Inn
hoping to secure a few donations to use
at
our Welcome Back open house. Before I
could get completely into my spiel Jared
jumped right in and offered his services
and those of Village Inn’s, fully and completely.
He began to outline ways in which
Village Inn could and would support our
school’s efforts, from PTA nights to student
recognition. Immediately he offered a free
lunch, every Friday, to a group of students
that had been recognized by our school
as
going above and beyond in the practice
of
the developmental assets.
It is important to note that nearly 50
percent
of our students are on free or reduced
lunch and many of them have never seen
the inside of a “sit down” restaurant.
Immediately upon entering the restaurant
we are greeted by Jared, or one of the
wait
staff, and ushered to “Northwood’s table.” We
are always treated with warmth and respect
and with all the full benefits of paying
customers. I’ve tried, unsuccessfully, to
leave a gratuity, however my money is simply
no good as Jared insists that we are
given the full treatment. |
 This has been a wonderful opportunity
for students to see and meet the faces
behind the business located right smack
dab in their neighborhood. I get to enjoy
time with a small group of my students
that
I normally wouldn’t get to otherwise. Of
course the danger to my waistline is mitigated
by the free flow of conversation
around the lunch table. One young man,
a
third grader, shared with me that he carefully
picked out his clothes to wear the night
before, and attempted to skip breakfast
that
morning so that he’d have extra room for
lunch that day. Another boy, a fourth grader,
impressed us all at lunch by eating his
triple stack of chocolate chip pancakes,
with syrup, and a ‘super sized’ chocolate
milkshake to wash it down.
There is more to life than lunch, of
course, and Jared and Village Inn have
offered us the use of the restaurant for
PTA
and faculty meetings. They’ve given every
teacher a loaf of raisin bread during the
holidays.
They’ve donated pies and dinners for
our PTA sponsored events and Parent
Nights. When one of our staff members
mistakenly went to Village Inn instead
of a
different vendor we had contacted to pick
up sandwiches for a parent night, they
were
still provided free of charge, no questions
asked.
Jared is adamant that he can do more
for our school. He and Village Inn strongly
believe in children and strongly believe
that
together we can make a positive difference
in their lives. |
