Today we’d like to introduce you to Kay Wasden.
Hi Kay, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
After some friends and I donated books and computers to Westbury High School and Fondren Middle School during the pandemic, I was shocked when they reached out to me during the big freeze of 2021: WE NEED FOOD AND WATER! OUR FAMILIES ARE SUFFERING! CAN YOU PLEASE HELP?
We responded by delivering food and water to Westbury and Fondren, and we started an ongoing relationship with those two schools, responding to emergency requests for basic needs items. We were soon delivering food packs, hygiene supplies, shoes & socks, underwear, and more to Westbury and Fondren. Other HISD schools in the area soon started asking if we would work with them, and by the end of 2021 we were working with 35 schools.
The level of need surprised us. Doing some research, we found that 80% of HISD’s more than 184,000 students qualify for free or reduced lunch. Of HISD’s 274 schools, 258 are Title I, meaning 40% or more of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch, and 188 have student populations where 90-100% of the students fall into that category.
Community of Resources Houston (COR) became a 501(c)(3) in the summer of 2022, and by summer of 2024 we were working with all 258 HISD Title I schools, providing basic needs items upon request. Our mission is to provide essential, basic resources for students of HISD Title I schools so that students can focus on learning.
There are many challenges that economically disadvantaged students and their families can face that adversely affect the ability of students to do well in school. Situations such as being homeless, having no opportunity to bathe, or going to school hungry, without access to dental hygiene or hair care products, make it very hard for children or teens to focus while at school. Lacking things such as appropriate clothing, period supplies, or shoes can make it difficult for students to attend school. Despite these stressors, school goes on.
COR’s fast growth speaks to both the high level of need among HISD students and our effective and efficient method of meeting that need. We maintain a relationship with the school counselor or nurse at HISD schools. As they identify students and families in need, they reach out to COR. We then deliver the needed items to our school contacts to distribute to students and families, meeting need in close to real time and allowing those students to increase both their attendance and their focus while at school. We give special priority to those schools where the majority of students live in poverty and where the surrounding community lacks businesses and organizations that can support the school. Commonly requested items include food, uniform shirts and pants, underwear, shoes, jackets, belts, deodorant, toothpaste and toothbrushes, cleaning and laundry supplies, shampoo, period products, and soap.
We see great value in meeting the basic needs of school children in a timely fashion. We believe that meeting the needs of the children in our community will help them learn and do better in school, benefitting our city and community as a whole.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Starting a new nonprofit has its challenges. Finding donors, supporters, and volunteers, finding a space that works for operations, and building and maintaining relationships with our schools have all been challenging at times. One of the biggest challenges has been tailoring what we purchase to what is needed. We have worked hard to find best prices and to develop purchasing relationships with local retail stores like Target, H-E-B, Joe V’s, and Walmart. Requests from schools have been the main driver of what we purchase and how we package things; for example, volunteers create individual hygiene packs of full-sized hygiene products and larger family packs of the same, food packs of easy meal food, pantry staples, and no-cook food (for students and families experiencing homelessness), cleaning packs of all-purpose cleaner, dish and laundry soap, sponges, trash bags, paper towels, and toilet paper, and even college packs for Title I seniors going away to college. We get many emergency requests for families who have lost everything in a fire, for families who’ve lost a parent, even for families whose head of household is a teenager in high school. We are slowly gathering a network of volunteers who can find things like strollers for a new baby, beds for students sleeping on the floor, even fun things to give to schools for special occasions. Houston is truly a community of resources, and we are committed to getting those resources to students who need them.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
COR is a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit that provides basic needs items to HISD Title I schools so that students can focus on learning. We are unique because we work with all 258 HISD Title I schools and deliver needed resources to those schools upon request. There are many great organizations that support HISD, but those organizations usually offer specific things like just food, or just school supplies. Many only give back-to-school uniforms or backpacks or holiday gifts. Many work with just one or two schools, and many only work with schools in certain zip codes. We think of COR as filling in the gaps. We give whatever is needed, all year round. COR’s success is a result of both the high level of need in HISD and our efficient and effective method of meeting that need.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Every COR volunteer loves to bring needed items to schools, knowing that even little things can make a big difference.
Pricing:
- $5.00 buys a uniform polo
- $10.00 buys a pair of pants
- $1.25 buys a bottle of shampoo or conditioner
- $2.00 buys deodorant or a bag each of rice and beans
- $3.50 buys a pillow
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.corhouston.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cofrhouston/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CofRHouston
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cor-houston/
