School is back in session!! It’s a season of forging new friendships and learning new skills, and we’re celebrating each parent and child stepping into that new season this month! As Oak Park District 97 kids headed back to school this week, and many of our kids finish up their second week, we’re proud to have contributed our share of stuffed backpacks to the mix.
Hephzibah’s Back to School Event was a huge success! Our supporters raised $12,104, not including the hundreds of supplies donated from our Amazon wish-list and collected off-site! We distributed a staggering 6000 pencils, 500 sharpeners, and more than 1000 notebooks to stuff the backpacks of over 400 kids from our Family-Based program and local families!
A special thanks to our corporate partners who donated time, volunteers, funds, supplies, and their space to the cause: J.A. Watts, Deloitte, the Ticket to Dream Foundation, Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church Youth Group, Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana, and Calvary Memorial Church. THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts for making this event possible!Â
For many of our families, shopping for school supplies adds an additional layer of financial stress on top of dramatically increased prices. Thanks to you, our donors and supporters, we can break those barriers keeping kids from being fully engaged in learning. These supplies form the foundation for kids to learn and grow freely. In times where agency feels harder and harder to come by, we’re proud to be able to give kids the experience of choosing a favorite backpack, picking their favorite color notebooks, and finding comfort in a stuffed animal just for them. See you next year!!
