Nickey Street has become a busy two-way thoroughfare for both giving and receiving with the new addition of the Blessing Box that is serving the campus community in front of Eugene Field Elementary.

The outdoor cabinet filled with shelf-stable pantry items and children’s books was donated by the Kirchners, a family that has attended the neighborhood school over the course of multiple generations.

“…They took the vision and made it a thousand times better than I ever imagined,” explained Principal Kristen Spain, who has dreamed of introducing the concept since she saw a similar setup at an elementary school in Jackson about a year ago.

This school year, Eugene Field began a Family Lighthouse team to complement its Leader In Me initiative. During the initial meeting, Spain shared a presentation that included a Free Little Library, as seen throughout town, and ended up approaching alumnus Timothy Kirchner and wife Kaysea about helping to build one because of their enthusiasm.

The couple purchased a prefabricated structure from Etsy and installed it last month, with assistance from their sons: Klay, a first grader at Eugene Field, and older brother Konner, who now attends Junior High. Timothy painted the box with Mules colors and weather-proofed it. “…It just became a family labor of love for them,” Spain said.

The Blessing Box, as it came to be called, has already been generating generous donations from staff, students, alumni and neighbors—including serving as the motive behind a fundraising event, for the purpose of filling needs on the south side of town for “families struggling in this economy,” Spain reported.

Having developed a culture around service projects, the Student Lighthouse team was tasked with finding ways to help maintain the Blessing Box during the week, under the direction of counselor Esther Luna. “We haven’t seen them this excited to help with a leadership role in a long time,” Spain observed.

“By empowering them with opportunities to do this, our students are discovering a new super power they didn’t realize they had access to,” Spain explained. “They ask to bring food from their pantries at home to fill the box, and beam with pride each day as they do so.”

Students are also given time at the end of the day to retrieve extra staples for meals from the box as needed for loved ones, or to exchange books from the library section.

“I truly believe literacy is one of the key factors that a person needs to break out of the cycle of poverty,” Spain stated. “…But a need even greater than literacy right now seems to be the need for food.”

She pointed out that, according to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, fundamental necessities such as food, clothing and shelter must be met “in order for bloom to truly be possible.”

“If a student is going without a need, it affects their well-being at school in so many ways;” continued the principal, “everything from being unable to focus or behave well due to hunger or the constant anxiety and worry that comes along with basic needs not being met.”

According to the Student Lighthouse team’s rules developed for how the box is to be utilized, store-bought, unopened non-perishables that are typically boxed, bagged or canned are welcomed. Contributors are asked to be mindful of expiration dates. Frozen foods or items that require refrigeration are not accepted, along with fruit due to its short shelf life. Age-appropriate books are also being collected.

While the box cannot accommodate clothing items: donated coats, hats, gloves, shoes, pants, shirts, underwear and socks for boys and girls are accepted through the nurse’s office. Monetary contributions may be made to: Eugene Field Elementary, 711 Nickey St., Poplar Bluff, MO 63901. Donors are asked to mark the envelope, 'Attention: Blessing Box.' 

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Cutline: The Student Lighthouse team at Eugene Field poses with Principal Kristen Spain around the elementary school's Blessing Box in December.