Lockport Bonaza!

Not only did Sarah Steinke and Lockport East come through in a big way with student supplies, the photo indicates the twenty-plus boxes of student materials gathered by Sarah Smith at Lockport Central High School.

Together these two schools came through with over 600 spiral notebooks, 450 folders and 400 binders. Included are dozens of pens, markers, index cards and plenty of loose leaf paper. Quite a donation to say the least!!

Remember, we are sorting all of these supplies next Saturday, June 7th from 9:00 am to noon. Three hours will do the trick!! Meet like minded volunteers, have some fun and support a great cause. Just email me at rich219@comcast.net to let me know of your availability.

Many thanks,
Dick

Lockport and Steinke

Today commences the first of nearly 40, yes 40, school supply pickups this spring. The start of this wonderful recycling effort was started by Lockport East Science Teacher Sarah Steinke. Sarah has long been an advocate of reusing various supplies and stepped to the fore when our charity started looking for public schools who could help us.

Sarah has long collected, sorted and boxed binders, pencils, binders and a whole host of other supplies that she, in turn, provides to our charity so that we can get them in the hands of kids who really need them.

Sarah's work involves other Lockport teachers as well as hundreds of students. It is fair to say that her efforts have provided us with many thousands of dollars of perfectly good supplies that students-in-need so desperately desire and can't go without.

Not only does Sarah spearhead this enormous initiative she has also donated funds to our charity, painted schools, loaded trucks and recently helped secure a grant from the Daughters of the American Revolution. This grant will go a long way towards buying band instruments for John Hay Elementary School in Chicago.

With Sarah and Lockport at our side, Schools Count Corp will continue to be able to support many thousands of students in the years to come. Well done Sarah.

Dick

Viewpoint

Here's my bucket list, in part, for neighborhood schools which have too few resources and a low tax base no matter where they are located in the United States.

- Provide them with the needed nurses and social workers every day of the week
- Make sure that the kids have full access to Music, Home Economics, Physical Education and Art
- See to it that the schools have clean washrooms and toilet paper (No, I'm not kidding)
- School districts should not be firing principals, asst. principals and teachers during the year
- If a school has a program then provide the resources
- Let teachers teach and forget the time spent on standardized testing
- Administrators, and the public at large, should ask for responsible teachers and put less emphasis on accountability
- Quit chastising unions

Just some thoughts about what I hope will be some positive changes in 2014-15.

Dick

As One Year Winds Down...

As this school year's end is fast appproaching, it has given me pause to think about the work of the students and schools we serve as well as the people out there, YOU, who make so much possible. When people are hit with a storm or poverty plenty of people step forward to help and that is a good thing.

But, the longer our volunteers and donors continue to engage in providing assistance to students in need it has become abundantly clear that a one-time stop gap measure is not the solution.

The harm caused by a hurricane or the devastation wrought by tornadoes or the despair caused by poverty doesn't end overnight or in a short period of time. The upcoming summer vacation will provide some respite to those who suffer from any number of perils but it doesn't eliminate the harm done or the cause of problems.

So, as this school year winds down (which is great) it leads me to think about helping kids get off to a good start in August. Yes, school is ending but I can't help but think about getting supplies ready for some eager children with those beaming smiles. The start of another school year will be here in a few months and I am excited about readying our donors and volunteers for the service we provide to many deserving students and teachers.

Dick

A Sorting Party!

Our June 7th sorting is a major part of our effort to get supplies boxed up and ready for shipment to the nearly 45 area schools we serve each August. You name it, we sort it. Whether its binders, pencils, index cards, spiral notebooks or backpacks, we need to make sure that the goods are clean, neat and ready for use by the kids.

We can use a minimum of 15 workers on June 7th. The three hours of volunteering are fun and will go a long way towards readying the supplies for the students. We will have plenty of refreshments and will sort rain or shine, 9:00 am to noon. Just send me an email to let me know you're in. My email is rich219@comcast.net. I sure appreciate the help!

Thanks,
Dick

I Can't...

I can't know what it is like to have a low paying job and not able to afford new school supplies or clothes for my children. I can't begin to understand what it must be like to see a child off to school and not be able to help them to the extent you desire. I surely can't fathom what it must be like to be a teacher or principal of a school and to have a diminishing budget which precludes the school from having enough supplies for the children.

And I absolutely have no clue what it must be like for a child to go without some new folders, binders, and spirals.

What I CAN understand and DO is to help children who want an education to have some of the necessary supplies to be successful in the classroom YOU can also help. How?

Head out to 20048 S. Kohlwood Dr., in Mokena on Saturday, June 7th to help us sort thousands, yes thousands, of various student supplies so that the kids have that chance to be better students at the start of the school year this fall. Three hours of help (9:00 am to noon) will do much to help us ready for our deliveries.

To get in on the action simply email me at rich219@comcast.net

Thank you!
Dick

Ready, Set and Sort!

I am looking for some energetic people willing to sort school supplies on Saturday, June 7th from 9:00 am to noon. We are sorting at our house at 20048 S. Kohlwood Dr. in Mokena. What better way to help those children who will need supplies for the start of the school year in the fall. Plenty of fun, lots of refreshments and a great cause. Let me know if you are in!!! Just email me at rich219@comcast.net

Thanks,
Dick