Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools: McPie Supports McClintock Middle School In More Ways Than One

Davidson NC

23 May, 2022

6:54 PM

Description

Press release from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools: 5/23/2022 On a warm Thursday afternoon, the last bell rang at McClintock Middle School and students rushed to their awaiting parents or buses to head home. Inside the cafeteria, besides a few student stragglers, was a line forming. There, members of McPie, or McClintock Partners in Education, wore red shirts depicting their logo, alongside dozens of foil containers stacked on a long cafeteria table. One-by-one, a line of teachers and staff collected one foil container each. Inside of the container that week was salisbury steak, mashed potatoes and vegetables, and each recipient got lemon bars or brownies to finish off their meal-for-two. McPie provides teachers meals every Thursday this academic year, a way to give them a weekly break from having to worry about what to put on the table that night. Roughly 120 people take them up on their offer, smiles adorning their faces as they pick up their ready-to-go meals every "thankful Thursday" afternoon. McPie has supported McClintock Middle School in a myriad of ways for 15 years as an outreach of Christ Lutheran Church. McPie program assistant Tammy Sanders says the decision to support McClintock was an easy one to make. "This is our church's middle school; our church is right down the street, and so these kids, these families are part of our family," said Sanders. Sanders remembers CMS administrators calling on local nonprofits, churches and other organizations to help their local schools, and that's exactly what they've done ever since. "We're trying to make a difference, and make their day a little brighter," said Sanders. It's not just the teachers and staff that see the benefits of the McClintock relationship with McPie. They host family nights on Tuesdays, offer tutoring, mental health support, summer camps, enrichment programs, career counseling and much more. There's a STEM robotics club, a cooking class for students, introduction to computer coding and even assistance with learning English as a second language. Lifting up the school community is a mission that McClintock parent and McPie transportation coordinator Sharhonda Morgan took to heart. "We also put little notes and candy in the teacher work room, and we make and glitter encouraging notes that can help them go on through the day," she said. Morgan has been helping out for several years, even after she had a child in the middle school herself. Diagnosed with Lupus, Morgan had health challenges to deal with, but she felt the call to volunteer at McClintock. "I started coming in every Tuesday night and volunteering, helping in the classrooms, helping with meals, transportation," she said. "I think every school should have something like this." Yearly, McPie operates with approximately $250,000 just to support the school. Those "thankful Thursday" meals are just one way McPie invests in making sure teachers and staff feel a little extra love and community support. This press release was produced by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. The views expressed here are the author's own.