THELEAVEN.ORG | VOL. 42, NO. 15 | NOVEMBER 13, 2020
FIT TO SIT
With no budget for new chairs, schools welcome donation from Lenexa company STORY BY JOE BOLLIG / PHOTOS BY JAY SOLDNER
LEAVEN PHOTO BY JAY SOLDNER
Eric White, principal of Most Pure Heart of Mary School in Topeka, loads chairs by the Scott Rice Office Works warehouse in Lenexa into his pickup truck bed.
LEAVEN PHOTO BY JAY SOLDNER
Eric White, principal of Most Pure Heart of Mary School in Topeka, starts the first of his many trips from his truck to the school, as he unloads chairs donated with the help of CEF Futures board member Rachel Hewitt.
L
EAVENWORTH — If Goldilocks had gone to Xavier School here in Leavenworth instead of the three bears’ cottage, she would have tried out three chairs instead of three beds. She’d try out the school secretary’s chair: “This one is broken!” And then the school nurse’s chair: “This one is broken, too!” And finally, the principal’s chair: “Oh dear, this one is also broken!” Poor Goldilocks would have to limp home with a backache, vulnerable to a bear attack on the way.
“The chair backs no longer stay in position, so they are constantly reclining further and further back all day long,” said Janelle Hartegan, Xavier principal. “They are very uncomfortable, but there isn’t money in the budget [for new chairs], so we just figure out how to make it work.” By no means is this situation unusual at some archdiocesan schools. They don’t have near the financial resources of public schools, so they have to do more with less, and follow the old U.S. Marine Corps slogan to “improvise, adapt and overcome.” This applies especially to furniture for staff and teachers.
Thankfully, seven Catholic schools with Catholic Education Foundation students will soon receive some much-needed and appreciated chairs thanks to a donation from Scott Rice Office Works in Lenexa. The chairs were made available to the schools thanks to Rachel Hewitt, a member of St. Elizabeth Parish in Kansas City, Missouri. She’s a workplace consultant with Scott Rice Office Works and a board member with Catholic Education Foundation Futures. CEF Futures is a group of young professionals who are active in their parishes and have a passion to help >> See “QUALITY” on page 4