MohonCARES

The Mohonasen Central School District has been strengthening programs to help serve students both inside and outside the classroom. Across the district, students in K-12 are provided food, clothing and toiletries.

All programs fall under MohonCARES (Connecting Area Resources to Empower Students) and exist at different levels in each school building. These programs largely exist because of donations from our families, our community and district employees. For example, deductions from faculty and staff at the high school are used to purchase resources from the Regional Food Bank for the Mohonasen High School Anchor Room.

“Research and common sense reveal that hunger negatively impacts a child’s academic performance and behavior in school,” district Superintendent Shannon Shine said. “Hungry children have lower math scores and are more likely to repeat a grade, come to school late or skip days entirely. By addressing this very basic need for students, we are providing them with foundational support for success. It’s not enough to say we care; we must demonstrate that we care.”

Program levels

• Bradt Primary School: Anchor Room (free clothing, toiletries), Food Pantry, Weekend Backpack Program
• Pinewood Intermediate School: Next to New Closet (free clothing, toiletries), Weekend Backpack Program
• Draper Middle School: Draper Closet (free clothing, toiletries), Weekend Backpack Program
• Mohonasen High School: Anchor Room, Food Pantry, Weekend Backpack Program

Past gifts

• 2024: Thomas Pest Services: $250
• 2023: Price Chopper/Golub $250 in Gift Cards 
• 2023: CDPHP, $500
• 2022: No Kid Hungry, $15,000 grant
• 2022: Wright Family Foundation, $10,000
• 2022: Stewart’s Holiday Match, $3,200 (earmarked to all 4 school buildings)
• 2022: Casella Waste Systems, $1,000
• 2022: CapCom: $2,500
• 2022: Price Chopper/Market 32: $500 in Gift Cards
• 2022: Highmark Blue Shield of Northeastern NY: $1,500
• 2022: CSX: $2,000
• 2022: CDPHP: $500
• 2021: Hannaford: $2,000 Gift Card to Stock Food Pantries
• 2021: CDPHP: $500
• 2021: Stewart’s Holiday Match: $3,000 (earmarked to all 4 school buildings)
• 2021: Price Chopper/Golub Foundation: $500 gift card
• 2021: Saratoga National Bank and Trust Company: $250
• 2021: International Paper: $2,196
• 2021: CapCom Federal Credit Union: $2,500
• 2021: Target: $500
• 2021: Sunmark Federal Credit Union: $500
• 2020: HealthNow: $1,500
• 2020: Erin Breslin: $100
• 2020: Connelly Family Foundation: $15,000
• 2020: Mohon Boys Basketball: $500
• 2020: Grade 1: $428
• 2020: Mr. & Mrs. Blesser: $250
• 2020: Draper PTSO: $250  S
• 2019: International Paper awarded $2,196 to support MohonCARES in general.
• 2019: $50 from Adirondack Tire.
• 2019: Stewart’s provided a $1,000 grant to be used for Anchor Rooms.
• 2019: Price Chopper awarded $500 to the High School Anchor Room.
• 2019: Capital District Physicians’ Health Plan, Inc. donated $500 to the Anchor Rooms.
• 2019: Hannaford Supermarkets presented the district with a $2,000 gift card to stock food pantries.
• 2019: Life.Church in Albany presented the district with a $15,000 check to be used in MohonCARES programs.
• 2019: Foresters Financial helped Draper Middle School earn a $2,000 grant for the Snack Attack program and an additional $2,000 for next year.

About $5,000 was also provided by the district’s staff through payroll deductions.