Dear Foundation Friend, 

     It’s official – the return to learning this fall, we will be online. So until the public health situation allows for the return to classrooms, the Foundation will continue adjusting to support students and teachers in the best ways possible.

    This is nothing like our usual back-to-school season. Fortunately, we’ve already seen what this community can do together. We’ve been inspired and energized by how members of our community responded quickly and generously since the pandemic hit. 

    For the past 18 years, a huge number of Northshore businesses, parents, and community volunteers have collected and organized paper, pens, crayons and other essential items, and came together at work parties to fill backpacks with supplies for students in need to start the year off right. This year, because of COVID-19, our traditional physical supply drives and volunteer work parties can’t be done safely. 

    Instead, we’re asking everyone to help in a new way: contributing to funding in-home school supply kits. 

    If your circumstances allow, would you be able to support the long-standing Backpacks for Kids program as we pivot to better meet the needs of kids learning from home? 

      The kit contents will be very similar to what the students received in past years, but they will not be distributed in a backpack and the intention is that they will be for in-home use. Supply kits will be available upon request through May 2021. We expect to receive a high volume of requests.

    We tested this approach in April and May this year when families who rely on supplies provided at school found themselves struggling. Thanks to supporters and donors, the Foundation was able to deliver supply kits to more than 200 students. In most cases, requests were filled within

     In a regular year, we receive as many as 1,200 backpack requests just for the back-to-school season. This year, we are expecting the need for supplies to be even greater.

     If you are able to support this program you can purchase school supplies for students in need here https://nsdfschoolsupplies.square.site/  You’ll see options to fund general supplies, headphones, and graphing calculators at whatever level is possible for your family. A $50 contribution covers costs for three student supply kits.

   A donation before 8/20 will help us fulfill the first round of requests for school supplies. 

    With your help, we will keep striving to serve Northshore students and families in the most relevant and appropriate ways. Thank you so much for your partnership and support. 

Gratefully,

Heather Erickson
Removing Barriers Coordinator
Northshore School Foundation
www.NorthshoreSchoolsFoundation.org

P.S. If you would like to request a supply pack  for your student(s), please complete this form:  https://bit.ly/NSDSchoolsupplies

If you know of a family in need who may not see this email, please pass this on or request that your school nurse or counselor get in touch with them