WAUSAU − Yauo Yang knows the struggles some families face trying to make ends meet and putting food on the table.
Yang was born in 1980 in a refugee camp in Thailand and his family moved to Wausau as refugees in 1987. He said they faced many challenges when they arrived.
Since then, Yang, who is a pastor at The Cross Church in Schofield, has devoted his life to service, making a difference and paying it forward.
Yang and his wife, Mayla, are parents to eight children, six of whom are students in the Wausau School District, and from time to time, Yang said he receives voicemail messages from the three schools his children attend letting him know that his children have negative school lunch balances.
“For the most part, I look at my bank account balance, and my wife and I are able to pay it,” Yang said. “But, I was thinking there are other families who have these lunch debts who have situations where they probably aren’t able to.”
Yang reached out to the Wausau and D.C. Everest Area school districts and learned there was over $20,000 in student lunch debt between the two districts. The Wausau district said its current lunch debt balance is at $10,925; the D.C. Everest school district did not respond to a reporter’s request for its current balance.
After he learned this, Yang started a seven-day GoFundMe campaign to raise $20,000 to pay off the lunch debts in both districts. As of Friday afternoon, the online fundraiser had raised over $4,800 from more than 110 donors.
“I’m just really humbled that people are willing to donate,” Yang said. “If people do a little bit, we can go a long way.”
April is both Hmong Heritage Month and Global Pay it Forward Month, and Yang will be speaking at Wausau East High School on Wednesday about his life of service, making a difference in the community and paying it forward.
He also plans to donate the fundraiser proceeds during the week.
How do school districts address negative lunch balances?
Karen Fochs, the director of nutrition services for the Wausau School District, said the current lunch debt balance is typical for the district over the last five years, but prior to that, the negative balances were closer to $5,000 at this point in the school year.
Fochs said automated calls from the district go out to families with a zero or negative balance, and families are encouraged to complete a free and reduced meal application, if eligible. Emails also are sent to families when negative balances reach higher amounts such as $100 or more, Fochs said.
The Wausau School District does not offer alternate meals to students with negative balances, as they require extra labor and might not provide optimal nutrition. Students in elementary school are never denied a meal. Middle and high school students with negative lunch balances are not allowed to purchase a la carte items such as chips, second entrees or ice cream, and once they reach a negative balance of $20 or more, they are asked to bring a cold lunch from home, Fochs said.
Casey Nye, superintendent of the D.C. Everest Area School District, said “helping ensure students’ basic needs are met − including healthy meals − is crucial to providing students the best opportunity to learn in the classroom. … Sometimes − especially when families experience unexpected economic hardship − school lunch balances can suffer. Regardless, our students receive one of the healthy options on our menu.”
Nye did not provide additional details on how D.C. Everest addresses negative lunch balances.
“I believe that it’s important for children to be able to go to school and have a dignified meal provided for them so they can learn,” Yang said. “These kids already know that their families are struggling financially, and to then be treated differently because you can’t pay for your school lunch.”
Yang said he knows negative school lunch balances will be an ongoing issue in both districts, and if the fundraiser is successful, he hopes to repeat it in the future. Anyone who is interested in helping him continue the effort, can email him at yauoyang@hotmail.com.
‘We are thankful to live in a generous community’
This isn’t the first time the local school districts have received donations to help pay down lunch debts.
“The (Wausau School District) has received donations in prior years and continues to receive donations in varying quantities,” Fochs said. “Some donors remain anonymous, some ask for donations to be applied toward negative accounts at certain schools with the district. Most recently a notable donation of $3,000 was made by a local pub stating that the money was collected from its staff and patrons and noted, in their letter to the district, ‘no child should go hungry.'”
Nye said over the years, many individuals have reached out to the D.C. Everest district asking to specifically apply funds to negative school lunch accounts, and they have welcomed those efforts.
“We are thankful to live in a generous community that has long demonstrated their support by helping families in need − whether it’s unsolicited donations of clothing, materials or funds applied to school lunch debt.”
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Editor Jamie Rokus can be reached at jrokus@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter at @Jamie_Rokus.
This article originally appeared on Stevens Point Journal: Fundraiser aims to pay down $20,000 school lunch debts in Wausau