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Members of Nunez Community College’s administration and Student Success Team celebrate the opening of the new Pelican Care Corner in the AST Building. The resource will provide free food and professional clothing to students. Pictured from left are Bernard the Pelican, Reggie Poché, Interim Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Engagement, Dr. Cherié Kay LaRocca, Provost, Brett Combel, Student Success Coach, Dr. Tina Tinney, Chancellor, Tai Nguyen, Vice Chancellor of Finance and Operations, Dr. Gordon Maples, Student Success Coach, Megan Trainor, Student Success Coach, Natalie Haniford, Director of Student Success, and Dr. April Lavergne, Dean of Strategic Enrollment Management and Student Success.
Nunez Community College in Chalmette cut the ribbon on its new Pelican Care Corner March 26 in a ceremony that drew cheers from across the college.
With a snip, Nunez Chancellor Tina Tinney officially opened the newest resource on campus. It joins a robust list of resources available to students and employees, including access to a health center, free counseling and a free gym. Dr. Tinney had high praise for the Student Success Team, which established the Pelican Care Corner and will oversee it moving forward.
“The Pelican Care Corner reflects our commitment to meeting students where they are and supporting the whole person,” said Dr. Tinney. “By bringing food access, basic necessities, and professional clothing together in one welcoming space, we are removing barriers and helping our students focus on what matters most—their well-being, education and future.”
The Pelican Care Corner provides free food, hygiene items and other donated goods to students, faculty and staff, and free professional clothing to students to wear to work or a job interview. Both services existed separately on the Nunez campus before the Student Success Team brought them together in one location in the AST Building. Students can now meet multiple needs with one quick stop.
The new Pelican Care Corner houses multiple refrigerators, allowing the Student Success Center to accept both perishable and shelf-stable foods. Donors are welcome to include frozen foods, fresh produce and cold beverages. Single-serving, microwavable or easy-to-prepare shelf-stable foods are also ideal donations.
Ample room remains to add more racks of gently used professional clothing for students to choose from. Both men’s and women’s clothing and accessories of all sizes are needed. Members of the community are invited and encouraged to drop donations for the Pelican Care Corner in the Student Success Center, which is across the hall from the Nunez Library in the AST Building. The Student Success Center is open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m.-12 p.m. on Fridays.
“The Pelican Care Corner is a direct line from the community to our students,” said Natalie Haniford, Director of Student Success. “It’s an opportunity for anyone to make a difference simply by donating what’s already in their closet or in their pantry at home. And they can do it as often as they like for as many generations of Nunez students as they wish.”
The opening of the Pelican Care Corner coincides with the recent announcement that Nunez will receive an $8,000 Hunger-Free Campus grant from the Louisiana Board of Regents. The grant will be used to assemble emergency essentials backpacks that will be distributed to community members free of charge during hurricane season and campus closures. They will contain food and other items like hygiene products and a flashlight.
The Hunger-Free Campus grant will also pay for the installation and stocking of “mini-pantries” around the Nunez campus that will allow students to pick up supplies conveniently and anonymously, even when campus is closed.
