One by one, students at Westwind Elementary carried in boxes of food from the Gene Messer vehicle filled to the brim. It was a welcome sight as approximately $500 worth of food was placed in the campus pantry.

The donation by Gene Messer Volkswagen was dropped off at Westwind on November 15th, just in time to be packaged and sent home with students in need before the Thanksgiving break.

“We have approximately 22 students at Westwind who take snack bags home on the weekend. It’s getting closer to the holidays and students are going to spend more time at home. This will provide them with some heartier meals,” said Westwind counselor Qualimetra Chapman.

A Gene Messer Volkswagen employee was inspired to make the generous donation after seeing a flyer for a food drive at the school.  Over the course of a few weeks, the employees donated money out of their own pockets and were able to purchase hundreds of food items.

“It’s a great opportunity to support the community and show Gene Messer is not just about selling cars,” said Daniel Shank with Gene Messer Volkswagen.

Thanks to Gene Messer’s generosity, another local business, Turpen and Associates jumped on board and also made a food donation to help provide extra food for the students over the Thanksgiving holiday.

These food donations will assist in supplementing the Frenship Tiger Bites program that works to provide both federally funded and donation-based food assistance to any child and family in Frenship ISD that may need assistance, no questions asked.

Chapman says it’s more than just putting food on the table. It’s about ensuring the child is set up for success.

“It helps our kids drastically. If your basic needs aren’t met, it is hard to learn and hard to focus in schools,” she said.

Gene Messer says they are looking forward to partnering with Westwind again in the future.