The Panther Resource Closet

at Davenport University
Sandra Anderson - Grand Rapids, Michigan
The Panther Resource Closet ("PRC") Background of the Project
+ Davenport University This project was initiated in 2017 by staff in Davenport
The Panther Resource Closet aids Davenport University in University’s Career Services office as primarily a
achieving its mission to aid students in achieving their professional clothing resource. In 2020, after collecting
highest levels of academic performance by ensuring that years of data on the utilization of the resource, this project
students have adequate resources so they can focus on transitioned to a focus more on food insecurity as
their educational advancement. utilization of food resources was consistently higher than
other resource categories.
Davenport University is in need of assistance building
capacity for this project in terms of:
expanding resources available to supply to students, Capacity Built During This Service Year
staffing of the Panther Resource Closet,
suitable space to accommodate increased student need, Since this was the first year of this program primarily
and having a food insecurity focus, capacity building has
increasing student awareness of the resource. primarily been focused on:
Reconfiguring data collection methods to better suit
For these reasons, Davenport University applied to receive an changes to the Panther Resource Closet
AmeriCorps member so that they can increase the students Rebranding the Panther Resource Closet
utilizing this resource as well as the resource's ability to Increasing the Panther Resource Closet's ability to
accommodate those student needs. serve students by leveraging donations, finding new
ways to fundraise, and seeking committed future
donors
Panther Resource Closet During COVID-19 Designing a needs assessment based on best
practices to disseminate to students in order to aid in
Although Davenport University went virtual during the future program design and fundraising
COVID-19 pandemic, the Panther Resource Closet Promoting the Panther Resource Closet via Davenport
continued to provide resources to students in need by University social media
pivoting to a grab-and-go model for food items, and
implementing a request form for all other items. Although it
was challenging to continue to engage students during
this time period, the pandemic offered the opportunity for
Davenport to better develop future programming before
campus returns to full capacity at which point utilization is
likely to increase. The donations leveraged during this
time should sustain the Panther Resource Closet through
at least the fall of 2021, at which point programming can
resume and capacity can continue to expand. Additionally,
the research of best practices done during this time will
aid in guiding future programming.

Sustainability
This service year,
sustainability was increased
by:
leveraging over $2500
of donations (cash and
in-kind) to sustain the
resource closet
surveying students to
obtain data regarding
student needs and
experiences
increasing student
awareness of the
Panther Resource
Closet through social
media marketing
Redesign of tracking
modalities to better
analyze data
Recommendations
Finding a way to
increase word-of-
mouth advertisement
of the Panther Resource
Closet among students
Specifically
instructing those
aiding in data
collection on how to
accurately track data
Recruiting volunteers
from the community to
aid in donation
management
Collaborating with
local organizations
who also work with food
insecurity to share
resources and expertise
Barriers
Currently the Panther
Resource Closet could
benefit from having a
larger space
Decreased student
involvement during
COVID-19
Lack of paid
staff/volunteers to aid in
management of the
Panther Resource Closet
Wanting to respect
student privacy vs
wanting to collect
specific data
Lessons Learned
Amazon Wishlist is a
great fundraising tool
Collaboration with
other Davenport
departments and local
organizations are crucial
Wherever possible,
collect as much data as
possible
Staff and faculty at
Davenport have a
genuine desire to
support the resource
whenever possible