Las Cruces Public Schools Foundation recently announced the creation of the Organ Mountain Outfitters Endowment Fund, which will be used to help provide school lunches for children in need. The announcement was made at a school board meeting in August, where Organ Mountain Outfitters owner Chris Lang presented a $10,000 check from the company.

Organ Mountain Outfitters owner Chris Lang addresses the Las Cruces Public Schools Board of Education during a meeting on August 7, 2018. The company as created an endowed fund through the Las Cruces Public Schools Foundation to help provide school meals for students in need in perpetuity.

Organ Mountain Outfitters, a clothing company founded in Las Cruces, donates $2 from every shirt and three percent of the company’s gross sales to provide lunches to students in Las Cruces Public Schools. After making several individual donations, Lang decided to work with the Las Cruces Public Schools Foundation to create the endowment, which will fund the program in perpetuity.

“Organ Mountain Outfitters is proud to create this endowment that will continue to provide Las Cruces children with school lunches forever,” Lang said. “We’re very thankful to our community for their overwhelming support, which has given us the opportunity to employ several LCPS and New Mexico State University students. Las Cruces has really embraced us in a way that will help create a lasting legacy well into the future.”

Back row (L-R): Las Cruces Public Schools Board Member Ray Jaramillo, Board Vice-President Terrie Dallman, LCPS Superintendent Greg Ewing, Board President Ed Frank; Front row (L-R): LCPS Foundation President Michael Morehead, LCPS Community Outreach Liaison Brigitte Zigelhofer, Organ Mountain Outfitters owner Chris Lang, LCPS Board Member Maria Flores, LCPS Board Secretary Maury Castro.

The program is geared toward students who qualify for reduced meal costs and to help parents who may be experiencing a hardship. To date, the company has contributed $35,000, which equates to 90,000 meals for the students of Las Cruces Public Schools. Future contributions will go directly into the endowment fund, the interest from which will be used to ensure the program can carry on forever.

“The creation of this endowment provides a long-term solution to a longstanding problem that all districts experience,” said Michael Morehead, president of the Las Cruces Public Schools Foundation. “Families often struggle to pay for their children’s meals at school. This is an important first step to helping families across the district, while seeing that the school district is adequately compensated for these meals.”

More detailed information about Organ Mountain Outfitters’ charitable contributions can be found HERE.

— Damien Willis, LCPS Director of Communications, 575-527-5811, dwillis@lcps.net