Buoy Friendsgiving: Bringing Cheer to Local School 

Kraken defenseman Ryker Evans never expected people to be so appreciative of the goldfish crackers and other snacks he was tasked with handing out at a makeshift grocery distribution setup the team was helping run for those in need.

Evans and forward Berkly Catton and their respective girlfriends, Mariah Fiest and Khari Ohryn, last week joined the team’s One Roof Foundation (ORF) philanthropic arm at Lowell Elementary School for the second annual “Buoy Friendsgiving” holiday event. Parents and students at the Title 1 school just off the city’s downtown core were given shopping bags and free reign to pick up fresh meat, produce, snacks, laundry detergent, soap bars, toilet paper, cleaning spray, and other items from the more than 6,000 pounds of groceries the Kraken helped distribute in the school’s library.

“You take a lot of things for granted, I think,” Evans said. “And then, when you go there, you kind of get a perspective on what it’s really like and the struggles people go through. So, it was a nice little reality check.”

Many of the school’s students are from lower-income families and face food and housing insecurity. Their situation became even more challenging this fall due to the recently ended federal government shutdown and suspension of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding.

In addition to free shopping at the ORF-run food distribution area, more than 300 families participating in last week’s event were given $50 Amazon Fresh gift cards and a Buoy-themed lunchbox from the Kraken mascot, who was also on-hand helping with the food giveaway.

Catton said the kids he met while over there “seemed more excited about the hot chocolate and granola bars” he was handing out than talking to actual NHL players. “I think their parents were more excited about us than they were,” he quipped.

But Catton, like Evans, couldn’t help but come away feeling moved by it all.

“It was interesting to see so much excitement about something so small that sometimes we take for granted,” he said, alluding to the snacks.

Lowell social worker Angela Paul said the first months of the school year have been incredibly challenging.

Paul said she was sending groceries home to some families every week because they aren’t making ends meet.

“If they’re getting benefits, it’s never enough,” she said. “They keep getting cut back. The grocery prices keep going up. And so, if we’re providing help for a family, the $50 or $100 just doesn’t go as far as it used to.”

Paul described one student who’d been “running around, unable to focus” for half a day at a time because of food insecurity in his home.

“So, I’m offering him a snack now every time he comes to my office, which is at least twice a day,” she said. “Your brain is not functioning the way it’s supposed to when your body isn’t fueled. You have a hard time interacting with others or focusing on academics when your stomach keeps growling all the time and you’re never quite sure where your next meal is coming from.”

Lowell assistant principal James Dixon said food insecurity issues can raise the school’s “stress level” even if the youngsters themselves aren’t fully aware of how dire their family situation is.

“They feel the stress and the tension in their life,” Dixon said. “So, I think alleviating that tension for the parents is really very helpful. I got a text from a parent at 6:30 this morning that said, ‘Whoever sent those (Amazon) gift cards, thank you. You don’t know how hard it’s been to try to figure out how to feed my family.’”

Dixon said he then told the parent he was also going to set aside some food boxes from the event for her to pick up.

“She was almost in tears,” he said.

Lowell principal Chelsea Dziedzic said partnerships such as the one between her school and One Roof Foundation are critical for bridging the gap. Looking around at the groceries being distributed in the school’s library, she added, “There’s this spirit of abundance in a place where things could be very scarce. And it feels very good. The families deserve it. And the teachers deserve it, to feel like their (students’) needs are being met, so we can focus on teaching and learning.

“And that’s really the core work of a school, right? That’s what you’re supposed to be doing. But the community has really helped fill in some of those holes so that everybody feels ready to learn.”

Kraken defender Evans feels he learned something at the school that made him stop and think.

“It’s obviously tough to see kids put in that situation because they’re just kids,” Evans said. “So, it was nice to be able to give food to them. I think it was a great idea and I’m glad I was able to help.”