A visualization of the inside layout of the Monda Student Resource Center, where Career Closet will be set up. Credit: Courtesy of Ryan Lovell
Ohio State’s Student Wellness Center will open the Monda Student Resource Center — a facility that aims to help students fulfill basic needs like food, housing or clothing — April 25.
Set to be located within the Younkin Success Center, the Monda Center will collaborate with Buckeye Food Alliance and Career Closet, two nonprofits within the Office of Student Life that help students access necessary food and clothing for free. Ryan Lovell, the office’s associate vice president for health and well-being, said the center will try to ensure students can focus on education rather than these external challenges.
“You often hear that vision or that story of students who are eating ramen, sleeping on people’s couches,” Lovell said. “But in reality, that’s true for many students.”
Lovell said the initial idea for the new center was circulated through a few people, including Melissa Shivers, the office’s senior vice president for student life, who wanted to put all of Ohio State’s resources into one place, so they would be more accessible for students.
Not only will the center help connect students with food and clothing items, but it will also serve as an office space to bring both campus and community partners together, Lovell said.
“It really does create a one-stop shop so that [students] can come there, get whatever the resources they need — food, clothing, et cetera,” Lovell said. “But then also, these other community and campus resources all in one space.”
Lovell said Career Closet has participated in on-campus pop-ups in the past, but the center’s establishment will allow the organization to have a permanent location that’s accessible to students.
According to Career Closet’s website, different types of business-professional attire will be available, including suits, blazers, blouses, collared shirts and more.
Additionally, Lindsey Long, a volunteer with Buckeye Food Alliance, said the organization attempts to combat the stigma of food insecurity with the help of 30 student volunteers.
“We’re just trying to make sure that students can thrive at this university with all the resources that they need,” said Long, also a fourth-year in environmental public health.
Once the Monda Center opens, Long said students can order food from Buckeye Food Alliance through an online menu, which they can use to place a pick-up order, then collect their items at the facility.
When staff at the Student Wellness Center brought up the idea for the Monda Center to the Buckeye Food Alliance, Long said its members felt excited to be part of a project that will have a long-lasting impact on campus.
“The mission of BFA is to be accessible to people and, again, to make sure that no Buckeye goes hungry, and [the organization wants] students to be students and to focus on their school,” Long said.
Students can learn more about the center and its resources by visiting its website.
