Smaller Indiana

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Congratulations to Marty Posch and all those involved with the Back Pack Attack for successfully raising 425,000 school supply items for needy school-agers. Marty tells me that filled 8,800 backpacks. Wow.

And I grumble about having to buy the two boxes of kleenexes and the 8 glue sticks, etc. , etc. that I have to provide each year for my kids. But I can afford it, so I send the big WalMart bag with the kiddos each first day. Imagine how it would feel to be a seven-year-old and NOT be able to give your teacher that bag o' supplies. It may sound silly but when it is important to be just like everyone else, that kid is going to feel insecure and at a disadvantage from the get-go. (And that doesn't even take into account the academic disadvantage of not having the pencils and paper to use each day.)

The Back Pack Attack leveled the playing field for more than 8,000 kids this year. Here's the kicker though. According to statistics, more than 27,000 students in Marion County qualify for free or reduced lunch which means they qualify for Back Pack Attack. So, despite the successful year, the Back Pack Attack is only 1/3 of the way to its goal of providing school supplies for every student in need.

Wouldn't it be cool if we could make sure every child was prepared on day one? Just like Gleaners has to collect food supplies all year long and not just at Thanksgiving, kids need school supplies all year long. So can we keep donating them all year long? I will donate a storage unit if you don't already have one. And if we have a teacher who is willing to lend her name, we can post the need nationally on DonorsChoose.org too. Marty, are you game?

(Yes, I can hear the don't-tax-me-or-ask-for-any-handouts crowd now. Yes, it would be nice if every family could provide for their own. But they can't. And that isn't the kid's fault. So let's break the cycle of poverty and give kids a leg up by providing the tools for education.)

Tags: charity, donations, giving, kids, school

1 Comment

Linda Broadfoot Comment by Linda Broadfoot on August 13, 2008 at 9:30am
Marty Posch is a rock star!!!!!

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