For Christmas, a men’s Christian faith group in Shawnee is erasing lunch debt for students in two Kansas school districts.
Collecting about $5,500, the group WhiteFlag donated it to wipe out lunch debt in USD 232 in De Soto and the Turner Unified School District 202.
This is the second year the group has erased debt
For the past five years, the group has given back to the community around the Christmas season. After group member Bradley Nielsen met with a school principal at a Shawnee Rotary Club meeting, they decided to tackle school lunch debt.
“He said, ‘Well, a big problem is these families forget to fill out the application,’ he said, “So yeah, there’s a free lunch program. Anybody can get a free lunch program, right? But they forget to fill out the application … So then their kids are going there and accumulating debt when they really don’t have to.”
Knowing how much money they raised, Nielsen said they wanted to extend that to another district. Familiar with the Turner School District through sports, the group thought it was a perfect recipient.
“It was just heavy, heavy on our heart to figure out how we can make a difference,” said leader Ben Krehbiel.
WhiteFlag meets weekly to talk about life
The group started in 2016 as a gathering of fathers and husbands from around Mill Valley and De Soto high schools reading the New Testament of the Bible.
It slowly grew, gathering more than 50 men with a variety of religious backgrounds, from Catholics to Protestants to non-believers.
While it has in-person meetings, some communicate solely through the group chat app GroupMe. They encourage each other and help work through life’s challenges.
“We try to try to make sense of confusing things in the media and try to go to what should be right,” Krehbiel said.
Social media helped drive donations
As Christmas approached, they put out the call to gather money for the cause. They received more than they expected.
“I just found out when I just delivered the donation [to USD 202], I think there were 360 families that are going to be totally clear of any debt, and others that are going to have significant reductions,” Krehbiel said.
Alvie Cater, USD 232 spokesperson, said the money will be used to assist up to 400 students, starting with those with the most significant needs.
“The donation made to the district to assist with meal account balances will be a welcome surprise to families who are facing financial challenges,” he said. “We are thankful to have so many individuals in our community who have a heart for children and their families.”
The group is thankful for the community
While both Nielsen and Krehbiel are happy to let people know about their donation, they said they didn’t do it for personal glory.
“What drives us is Jesus and what he would have us do,” Krehbiel said. “This is one area we think we can make a difference.”
Krehbiel said they did it as a gesture of love and to encourage others to follow suit so no family has to struggle with feeding their kids at school.
“We’re going to do what we can to make sure kids know that they should be able to have lunch without fear of a stigma,” he said.
