Building Community Park University’s Pirate Pantry opened its doors in October 2018 with a major gift from North Kansas City (Mo.) Hospital. Funding a campus food pantry was a natural fit for the nonprofit community hospital. “Our commitment to health care goes beyond bricks and mortar to meeting community needs,” said Randee Gannon, vice president of marketing and community wellness at NKCH. “Hunger is a health care issue.”
From left: Laurie Gunderson, wife of Park University President Dr. Greg Gunderson; Dr. Jayme Uden, dean of students; Florenda Jarrard, assistant director of academic support services; and Dr. Debra Olson-Morrison, assistant professor of social work, were all instrumental in getting the University’s student food pantry opened.
The Pirate Pantry, located in the Intramural and Recreational Fieldhouse (Labor Hall), addresses the growing issue of food insecurity among college students. Nationally, a 2016 study found that 22 percent of students had low levels of food security and qualified as “hungry.” “Hungry people are less able to study. If you’re not studying, you’re not getting an education,” said Gannon. “Research shows that educated adults have healthier behaviors and live longer.” North Kansas City Hospital supports education across Kansas City’s Northland region through programs like Northland CAPS, a careeroriented, hands-on learning experience for high school students. The hospital combats hunger by providing food donations to Harvesters — The Community Food Network and Northland Meals on Wheels.
Pirate Pantry and StepUp Store Inaugural Sponsor
10
Pirate Pantry is funded entirely by donations and operated by volunteers, primarily graduate students in Park’s Master of Social Work program.The pantry stocks nonperishable and fresh food items in alignment with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s nutrition standards. For more information, visit park.edu/park-pantry.
Building Leaders Anteco Cross, ’95, arrived at Park University during a rebuilding year for the Pirates’ men’s basketball program. Cross was recruited in 1993, which was Claude English’s second year as head coach. He soon discovered that English was building much more than a winning team. As a coach and later as Park’s director of athletics (a role he has held since 1996), English has consistently focused on building character. His expectations of excellence on and off the court equipped Cross, and generations of Park student-athletes, for success in adult life. That is what inspired Cross, along Claude English with teammate Brian O’Neil, ’96, to help establish the Coach English Endowed Scholarship at Park University. Donors have already contributed more than half of the $25,000 needed to endow the scholarship, which will be awarded to student-athletes who demonstrate the characteristics of dedication and discipline. English’s legacy includes a long list of accolades. He coached the Pirates to the NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament semifinals in 1998. He was named American Midwest Conference Coach of the Year in 1995-96 and in 1997-98. In his tenure as director of athletics, the Pirates have won 73 conference championships in multiple sports. But the award that might best represent English’s impact is the Outstanding Sportsmanship Award he and his team received during the 1998 NAIA tournament. Cross said English emphasized sportsmanship as an aspect of character. “He always reminded us that we were an extension of him, and we were all an extension of Park,” Cross said. “He wanted us to say, ‘I am a graduate of Park,’ and know that it meant something.”
English ran “theCoach basketball program in a way that prepared us for the real world. We want to honor Coach English and help students who show characteristics that reflect who he is. -Anteco Cross, ,95
”
The Coach English Endowed Scholarship will help future Park student-athletes know the same thing. 11
