Chester Tray Angels give fresh start to families with student meal debt
Charlene Murphy is helping families one meal at a time.
The Chester resident is raising money to pay off Chester County student meal accounts.
She kicked off the project Chester’s Tray Angels two weeks ago with a GoFundMe account. So far, she has raised $270 toward a $3,574 goal. Murphy said she contacted the school district and got the total amount owed on student accounts at Chester Park Elementary schools and Chester Middle School. No individual account data was released.
A district spokesperson could not be reached for comment.
When the goal is met, it will clear accounts that were in the negative as of Dec. 14, Murphy said. The goal is to do so by January when classes resume.
“We’re trying to get together and give families a fresh start,” she said.
Chester County students may charge up to $10 in meals before being served an alternate meal, according to the district policy. There is no charge for this meal. This is similar to other school district policies in York, Clover and Fort Mill.
Murphy said the concern is that it’s the child that has to get a different meal than his or her peers when the account has not been paid.
“I completely understand where the district is coming from and respect them,” she said. “I’m thankful they provide our children with a nutritional meal, but the parent side of me does not want to see a child get a different meal than the next child.”
Murphy said some parents may have challenges that make it difficult to pay off the accounts. She is asking the community to help.
“Why not help that family and child,” she said. “It’s just a fresh start for everybody.”
She started the effort after seeing a similar story in North Carolina, where a community raised more than $2,500 to pay off elementary students’ meal accounts.
“It was successful and that really inspired me,” she said.
Murphy hopes to eventually expand the effort to other Chester County schools.
Want to help?
To donate to Chester’s Tray Angels, visit gofundme.com/chesters-tray-angels.
This story was originally published December 21, 2016 at 6:04 PM with the headline "Chester Tray Angels give fresh start to families with student meal debt."