Traverse City Area Public Schools’ Students in Transition Empowerment Program (STEP) and surrounding school districts will benefit from a generous donation from Feed the Children of nearly 500 backpacks filled with school supplies, non-perishable food, and personal care items.
On Tuesday, August 24th, Northwest Michigan STEP Regional Coordinator and TCAPS’ District STEP Liaison Joan Abbott will accept the delivery of 480 backpacks scheduled to arrive at 8:00 a.m. at the Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District’s Career Tech Center, 880 Parsons Road.
“This shipment of backpacks is a project of the Northwest Michigan STEP program, a consortium of 20 school districts in Antrim, Benzie, Kalkaska, Leelanau, and Grand Traverse counties, whose mission is to ensure school accessibility, stability, and success for children experiencing homelessness,” commented TCAPS’ District STEP Liaison Joan Abbott. “The backpacks and supplies will be distributed by each school district’s STEP liaison.”
“It can be a real challenge for children living in a homeless situation to come to school ready to learn, which includes having adequate school supplies. We are very grateful to Feed the Children for providing backpacks filled with supplies for elementary and middle school students in our area,” said Abbott.
H.E.L.P., Homeless Education and Literacy Program, an outreach program of Feed The Children, has partnered with the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) to distribute backpacks to children in need. Through a partnership with SchoolKidz, a proud business unit of Staples® Inc., Feed The Children distributed 120,000 backpacks across the nation during the 2009-2010 school year and plans to distribute 150,000 for the 2010-2011 school year.
“Our backpack distribution program, in conjunction with our other education and nutrition programs, allows us to nourish both the minds and bodies of impoverished children,” says Tony Sellars, spokesperson from Feed The Children. “NAEHCY has shown its dedication to this mission by caring for the physical, emotional and educational needs of Michigan’s smallest citizens.”
Please contact TCAPS’ District STEP Liaison Joan Abbott at 231-933-8991 for more information.