May 26, 2023
PRESENTED BY APG
When Danette Reid died in a car accident last year at age 53, she left a big void. As a wife, mother and community leader, she was a beloved role model and a provider of comfort and support to college students in Philadelphia who struggled to pay for food.
Her husband and two children grew to deeply love and respect Danette for her uniquely generous spirit, and she earned the gratitude of an untold number of students who benefited from the charitable food pantry that she founded called Reid Cares.
On Tuesday, the legacy of Danette received some well-deserved recognition as well as a major financial boost from a new kind of term life insurance provider called Wysh, which provides coverage that’s tailored to the unique financial wishes of its policyholders. A celebration of Danette’s legacy, orchestrated by Wysh’s customer and claims support team, called Wysh Granters, was documented by a video production crew in Philadelphia.
Wysh is assisting with mortgage payments on the Reid family home and has funded and re-energized Reid Cares, as well as arranging for Danette’s two children, Trey and Danae, to receive the resources they need to advance their chosen careers.
On behalf of Trey Reid, the Wysh Granters contacted skin care expert Morrisa
Jenkins who agreed to provide professional advice to the young entrepreneur,
helping him refine his brand of products called G.Smoov. A team of designers
and packaging experts from Wysh are also helping with G.Smoov’s product
development and the popular Philadelphia store Southside Apothecary has
agreed to stock the startup’s products.
For Danette’s daughter Danae, whose passion lies in connecting with people through her grief-focused podcast called Damn Mom, Really?, Wysh partnered with Guitar Center to equip her with a state-of-the-art podcasting studio. The new equipment will enable Danae to podcast with professional-level audio quality. Wysh is also providing a promotional budget and a media consultant to help boost the reach of Danae’s show and to grow her audience across podcast networks.
“When we heard about Danette passing away, we just wanted to help her family,” said April Troester, head of service and support at Wysh. “We wanted to bring our Wysh Granters to them and find out what her wishes may have been and to see what we could do.”
Danette’s wish to reduce the uncertainty faced by many college students about where their next meal might be coming from targets a chronic need in America. According to the National Adult Services Protection Association*, 41% of four-year college students identified as food insecure. In 2021, 10.2% of US households were food insecure at least some period of time during the year, according to data from the US Department of Agriculture**.
*Stebleton, M. J. (n.d.). Food insecurity, covid-19, and role of Student Affairs educators. Food Insecurity, Covid-19, and Role of Student Affairs Educators. https://naspa.org/blog/food-insecurity-covid-19-and-role-of-student-affairs-educators
**US Department of Agriculture. Food Security and Nutrition Assistance (n.d.).https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/ag-and-food-statistics-charting-the-essentials/food-security-and-nutrition-assistance/
