Kevin Cain and his wife Lesley had lived in Morgantown their entire lives, but in 2004, as a result of hosting weekly dinners for a group of high school athletes, their hearts began to be burdened for the needs of local kids. So they began asking the question, “what more can we do?” That question led to a visit to Mannington, West Virginia, where their friend Colleen coordinated a lunchbox program for her local elementary school. Every week, they gave pre-packaged breakfasts, lunches, and dinners to local elementary school kids, free of charge. Kevin took their idea back to Morgantown, and in 2010, The Source Lunchbox Program at Skyview Elementary was born.

Why Skyview? For starters, they have one of the highest rates of students on free and reduced lunch in Monongalia County, so the need was great. Not to mention, back when it was called Westover Elementary, that’s where Kevin began his education.

The SOURCE’s deepening relationship with Skyview eventually led to principal Jen Cox asking us to take over their Before and After School program. Thanks to the collaborative efforts between Skyview, The Source, and the Mon County Board of Education, we launched The Source Before & After School Program in fall of 2017 (less than 6 months after Jen initially approached us).

The following summer, that program expanded into an all-day Summer Camp for not just Skyview students, but for elementary school students all over Mon County.

After 10 years, we’re simply amazed at how much we’ve grown. Every single week, over 40 volunteers show up to carefully pack over 3,000 calories into lunch bags for kids every week. We’ve delivered over 2 million meals and counting, all totally free to families. The Source now employs a team of trained professionals who care for the kids in our Before and After School program and Summer Camp. These programs allow parents the flexibility to work while providing their kids with enriching and fun activities every single day. We also recently launched an Incentive Program for families at Skyview. In this program, parents can earn a total of $900 in Walmart gift cards to assist with grocery expenses, all while learning important life skills such as budgeting, nutrition, and parenting skills.

We’ve been saying a lot lately, “just wait. This thing’s about to explode.” We are blessed to be able to provide meaningful help to families in our community, and we are just getting started. Keep reading to find out all that we’re up to, and how you can get involved.