Last summer, Caring Outreach by Parents in Evanston (COPE) partnered with Evanston/Skokie School District 65, the Evanston Community Foundation, Foundation 65 and the District 65 PTA Council in an effort to purchase school supplies for students in need. During the week of August 9, volunteers from COPE, school PTAs, Starbucks, and students from Evanston Township High School gathered at St. Mark’s Church in Evanston to sort school supplies and build kits for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. We raised over $15,000, meeting the 2015 fundraising goal. The Evanston Community Foundation (ECF) and Foundation 65 launched the effort by donating $2,500 each. Local businesses including Starbucks, Curt’s Café, Little Beans Café, and Maya Papaya & Tony Macarony hosted supply drives to collect new backpacks. The weekend of August 9th, 2015, Volunteers packed 700 supply kits using reusable bags donated by the Midwest Young Artists organization along with cinch sacks donated by Office Depot. An additional 250 kits were assembled for school principals and social workers to distribute to homeless and immigrant children as they started school later in the year. Dr. Maria Allison, District 65 Chief Strategy Officer said, Knowing that many of our students were able to come to school on day one with bags full of supplies makes the effort worthwhile. However, with nearly 2,600 students qualifying for free and reduced price meals, we still have a long way to go." This year, our goal is to raise $20,000 to serve over 1000 school children in Evanston. Will you help? Donate HERE.
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AuthorJuliet C. Bond, LCSW Archives
June 2016
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