With the issue of local educational inequity still drawing controversy, a wave of supporters from The Bethlehem Center set out again this year to help ensure each child is able to succeed.
On Aug. 13, more than 200 volunteers hand-delivered backpacks filled with classroom supplies to over 6,000 students in 12 Title 1 schools, including Barger Academy, Orchard Knob Elementary and Woodmore Elementary, among others.
Schools that received supplies
Barger AcademyBess T. Shepherd ElementaryCalvin Donaldson Environmental Science AcademyClifton Hills ElementaryEast Lake ElementaryEastside ElementaryHardy ElementaryHillcrest ElementaryOrchard Knob ElementarySpring Creek ElementaryWoodmore Elementary
Students at Hardy Elementary receive backpacks filled with school supplies during a previous year’s campaign. (Contributed photo)
Students at Hardy Elementary receive backpacks filled with school supplies during a previous year’s campaign. (Contributed photo)Hosted by the nonprofit learning center for its 17th year, the annual back-to-school community outreach initiative, called The Nehemiah Project, ensures that each child from kindergarten to fifth grade is given a see-through backpack filled with a basic assortment of supplies: papers, pencils, colored pencils, a pencil sharpener, a ruler, a pack of crayons and glue sticks.
“Most people don’t realize that when it comes time for school to start, if you’ve got a single mom who has three or four kids and she has to make a choice between paying her light bill and paying for the kids to have paper and pencils to go to school, she’s going to pay her light bill first,” said Kelley Andrews, project coordinator for the outreach initiative. “You take things for granted, even when you’re in a needy situation.”