Western Nevada College
Save Mart has been an important and valued community partner for Western Nevada College during the 2021-22 school year. The supermarket chain has helped look out for the well-being of WNC students and staff and provide additional safety on campus through several generous donations this year.
Among the donations was a $10,000 contribution to the Wildcat Reserve, a food and hygiene pantry that Western created to address a hunger concern that was identified for a significant portion of the college’s student body.
Chris Benson, who manages the Save Mart store at 3620 N. Carson St., is glad that Save Mart can make a difference at WNC, where he once was a student.
“We like to partner with the community and help out students at WNC who are a little less fortunate and this food helps them go a long way, especially during these hard times,” Benson said. “I had an opportunity to attend here, and it’s just a great school with the services they offer students. I would encourage any student not to be bashful or shy and utilize the services that are available to them.”
Wildcat Reserve is located in Room 108 in WNC’s Joe Dini Building on the Carson City campus and presents students with a wide variety of nonperishable and frozen food items, as well as hygiene products. Because of kind donations from Save Mart and the other college community partners, Wildcat Reserve has been able to expand on its food offerings to students.
Besides the $10,000 donation to the pantry, Save Mart has supplied $400 in gift cards for additional food purchases.
Earlier this year, a Save Mart donation armed students and staff with more protection against COVID. The thoughtful and timely donation of 29 cases of hand sanitizer enabled WNC to further protect students and staff on its Carson City and Fallon campuses, including the Liberal Arts department, the Child Development Center, the Foundation, Wildcat Reserve, Nursing and Allied Health, Professional and Applied Technology and faculty members, as COVID cases spiked throughout the country.
In the photos: Western Nevada College student government and student workers, back row from left, Larry Garcia-Castillo, Sarai Salas, Matthew Romero and Andrea Sanchez, as well as, front row from left, Victor Clavel and Benny Buchanan, pose in front of Wildcat Reserve and a new sign recognizing donors to the food and hygiene pantry. In the second photo, Western Nevada College Student Life Coordinator Heather Rikalo stands by the sign that the college has created to acknowledge donors to Wildcat Reserve.
