The Dragon’s Den is a room found within the main office at West Union Elementary School, and it is currently stocked with just about anything that a child in need might require. We offer clothing items that range from socks and undergarments to shoes and coats, we have hygiene products such as toothpaste and toothbrushes, deodorant, and even hair care products, and we also offer free school supplies ranging from dry erase markers to pencil boxes to backpacks. When a staff member notices some sort of deficiency in a student, they are discreetly invited to visit the Dragon’s Den and collect whatever they might need. This initiative helps address important obstacles to education that include everything from lack of hygiene products to clothes not fitting to unavailability of school supplies, and visiting the Dragon’s Den is designed to help prime a student for success by minimizing their barriers to accessing a proper education. All of these items have been provided by a few different generous donors (mostly churches) in our community, but we often run out and need to be replenished on a regular basis.

The best part about the Dragon’s Den is that literally every dollar counts. Even a donation of $5 can be used to purchase a pack of socks, multiple packs of pencils, or five body wash containers at the dollar store. As a result, this project can certainly persist even with partial funding. Given that several items do run out over the course of the year (most notably, shoes, winter coats, dry erase markers, and teeth-related products), having a cushion of at least $500 helps this project proceed quite smoothly. We have estimated that the full $2,000 should enable this particular initiative to persist into 2024 without too much of a reliance on charitable individuals and organizations in the community.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs details that you must have your most essential, basic needs meant before you can engage in higher order thinking and other tasks. The Dragon’s Den is another example of school districts and communities across Appalachian Ohio to step up to meet students’ needs that help them better engage in their learning, limiting distractions, all while maintaining their dignity.