Help Another Kid

I'm so excited for the new school year: the new classrooms, seeing friends again. But the best and most brilliant feeling is when I step into Staples and smell the scent of fresh notebooks and pencils. I load my cart with all the supplies I could possibly need. I fill my awesome, new backpack and feel it thud against my back on my way to school.

Many kids in homeless shelters don't know that feeling. You may not even have realized that there are homeless kids in the city, but there are about 15,000 living in shelters. And while you can't really change that, you can help them start their school year as good as anyone else's. Give them the chance this September to zip open a new backpack filled with supplies.

That's the whole idea of Coalition for the Homeless' Project: Back to School. When kids (and their parents) buy their own school supplies they buy a new backpack, fill it with some supplies and donate it to a homeless kid. You can provide this unforgettable feeling of excitement from having a new backpack on the first day of school! Can you believe it? You can improve things for a kid just your age!

I do Project: Back to School every year because I realize that pretty much everyone in my school has something that a whole lot of kids wish they could have. It would be really great if everyone in my fifth grade class donated one backpack, because then we could make a whole classroom of kids happy. And everyone in my class would know that same feeling of pride you get from helping another kid.

Ways that you can help:

•Start a school supply drive at your school.
•Raise money, which the coalition can use to purchase more school supplies.
•Make a one-time donation!

 

Comments

[garystartswithg]

08:17 PM on 09/05/2010

Thanks Olivia! I am in my 40s and still love my backpack -- its great for taking grocery shopping. I don't have school books thudding against my back --- its soy milk. I don't live in Manhattan, but you have inspired me to find out what I can do locally. Discount stores are full of backpacks (Ross, Marshalls TJ Maxx, Burlington­). Seems like they would be a lot happier being used than sitting on racks.
Iif you donate a box of pencils to IKEA you get a buy one meal get one free coupon for their cafeteria. We need a lot more of that.
Please keep the Huffington Post community up to date on your school and work endeavors, and have a great school year.

[Ugot2bKidnme]

11:23 AM on 09/05/2010

Just when I think we adults have screwed this country up beyond repair, along comes a kid and shots that pessimisti­c attitude right between the eyes. I guess each generation looks to the next for salvation. Nice to know we may have a chance. This young lady makes me think we may just have a future.

[ProudMilVet]

01:51 AM on 09/05/2010

What a Sweet Kid !

[RickM1969]

05:41 PM on 09/01/2010

Keep up the good work Olivia.

[Chauncey1186]

03:22 PM on 09/01/2010

What a wonderful program, Olivia, and thank you for all you are doing to help spread the word!

Forty years later, I still remember the excitement of starting the school year with those lovely fresh new pencils, and cracking open the brand new books. It is good for us to be reminded of the things we have that we take for granted. You sound like a very compassion­ate, caring person and I wish you all the best!