On January 26, 2023, we celebrated our adoption of Hancock Place School District with a special ceremony and book fair at the Early Childhood Center (ECC). In the fall, we entered the ECC and Elementary School, with plans to expand into the Middle and High Schools in the near future. Hancock represents our first school partner in South St. Louis County.
“The Little Bit Foundation has been phenomenal,” says Dr. Brandy Yarbrough, Director of School Counseling & Community Outreach for Hancock Place School District. “You meet with many organizations and they say we have ‘x y and z’ and it all sounds great. Little Bit has delivered on every promise, and then some – really exceeding all expectations.”
For the 650 students of the ECC and Elementary School, Little Bit is there with everyday essentials that are so much more than new shoes and new clothes, she says. “It spills over into their confidence; the students are positively glowing.” The additional resources also allow the school to reach out to families from a diverse population on a positive note.
She recounts a young student from Afghanistan who had clearly outgrown her clothes and shoes. Through an interpreter, Dr. Yarbrough was able to communicate to the mother that the school could help provide for new items. “That day, Kelly (Bick) and Meg (Mannion), the volunteers from Little Bit, returned with a bag of items in the right size. Because it was Valentine’s Day, they also had candies for the student and family. How special is that?!”
Dr. Yarbrough says partnering with Little Bit has impacted attendance in the district, with resources such as period supplies and the washer and dryer for each school helping to lift barriers that would typically keep some students at home. “Beyond the essentials, our high schoolers also have participated in the virtual transferable skills seminars and about 60 of them attended the Little Bit What’s Next college and career fair in the fall. Some of them are still talking about it,” she says. “It seems like every week that Little Bit is bringing us some new opportunity for our students. I am excited about the future.”
