Pantexans deliver ‘sunshine’ to single parents
A team of Pantex volunteers provided support to families in the Eveline Rivers’ Sunshine Cottages to put healthy meals on the table while the single parents prepared for finals. The cottages are housing for low‑income or homeless single parents who want to finish their education, work and raise their children in a safe environment.
Pantexans Caleb Rejino (left) and Danny Caverly, right, and Colin Caverly, Caverly’s son deliver meals to the Eveline Rivers Sunshine Cottages in Amarillo.
“Finals week can be a difficult time for anyone,” said Pantexan Caleb Rejino. “Eveline asked us to help the Sunshine Cottages by providing pre‑cooked or easy to prepare healthy meals. It is one less thing the parents have to worry about while studying for finals.”
Eveline Rivers, an Amarillo philanthropist, opened the Sunshine Cottages in 2001, with one home that was renovated into apartments. She now has six facilities with the goal to move “the whole family off the government system,” according to Eveline’s Sunshine Cottage website.
Residents of the Sunshine Cottages are required to take at least 12 hours of college classes each semester, work and ensure their children attend school. “These parents are working hard to finish their education and making sure their children learn by example,” Rejino said.
Rejino and members of his team delivered frozen casseroles and other items to the Sunshine Cottages Oct. 21. Rejino said nine members of the team cooked, and four anonymous Pantexans donated money to buy extra items.
The team was funded by Consolidated Nuclear Security. The Pantex Day of Volunteering was postponed so that both Y‑12 and Pantex can join forces next year. Some projects were approved for this year if the work couldn’t wait until 2016.