Kits for Kids Kick Off

I'm hard at work researching grants and finding funds for the Butler County School Supply Coalition. This coalition is composed of key individuals from around the county, and aims to provide a school supply kit to every child in Butler County on free and reduced lunch. The project covers children in all 10 public school districts, including: Lakota, Fairfield, Hamilton, Ross, Madison, Middletown, Edgewood, Monroe, New Miami, and Talawanda.

Scratch that--the coalition really covers every district but Talawanda, because for the past several years, Talawanda has managed to raise enough money to buy enough kits for all of the kids in their district without using any county money. What's their secret? I'm journeying to Oxford later today to meet with Maureen Kranbuhl, Director of Oxford United Way, to find out. It's our hope that we can replicate their efforts in other districts around the county to maximize our funds and increase our buying power. By ordering the kits all together in bulk, we can buy a complete school supply kit for elementary and junior high school students for about $5. You can't beat that!

Despite great efforts in the past, the coalition has never been able to raise enough money to buy enough kits for every child in need. And this year, we're projecting even higher numbers of kids in need due to the recession. I just heard on the news that 75% of the students in the Middletown City School District are on free or reduced lunch. That's a lot of kids, and we know that other districts are seeing similar numbers. It will take some organizing, some persuading, some grant-writing, and quite a few meetings with key players to get everything together, but I really think we can raise a significant chunk of money this year.

Want to get involved? For $5 you can provide a student in Butler County with the supplies he or she needs to start the 2010-2011 school year. Because this project is the collaborative effort of a coalition, none of your donation goes to overhead. Yep--100% of your donation goes to purchase much-needed school supply kits.

Think about it--I'll be back to ask again. In the meantime, email me at kaitlyn@sharedharvest.org for more information on the project or to make a donation. I'm happy to help you make a difference!