Here is how you can help Rochester area students get a Running Start for School
What’s the value of a backpack? At first, it may be something we take for granted, but for the student wearing that backpack, it’s the key to learning and growing — academically and as a person. Having a backpack full of fresh school supplies is a gratifying feeling (especially for younger kids), but being on the flip side — having to use old, outdated supplies or having none at all — isn’t good for a child’s academic performance or self-esteem.
United Way of Olmsted County (UWOC)’s Running Start for School program bridges the gap for thousands of students and families, providing backpacks and school supplies to dozens of participating schools in Olmsted County. The 2020 edition of the program is in full swing, but this year, Running Start For School is operating a bit differently than past years — evidenced in two main ways.
The donation process is different this year.
The Running Start For School program will look different than normal in 2020, but holds even greater importance than in past years. You may know the process United Way has used in years past — people buy school supplies, drop them off in collection bins, UWOC volunteers take care of the rest — but Covid-19 has changed that process, shifting donations entirely online. (The campaign had been collecting a portion of its proceeds online since 2016.)
While the pandemic forced UWOC to overhaul the collection process, it also sent the need for supplies skyrocketing. Normally, United Way sets a goal around 2,000 backpacks for the yearly drive. This year, participating schools have identified a need for more than 2,600 backpacks.
“We know that Covid-19 has brought more financial instability to our community,” says Grace Pesch, Impact Program Manager at United Way of Olmsted County. “Lots of people lost their jobs or got furloughed. We’ve seen issues accessing food and things like that — really essential needs.”
Your donation goes further in 2020.
The new virtual set-up makes the donation process easier and more cost-efficient for potential donors. Fifteen dollars can give a student the essential supplies they need to start their year — a backpack, pencils, notebooks, folders, highlighters, and more.
“I think it makes your dollar go a lot further,” says Pesch. “You can spend $15 for an elementary backpack, with 10 or 12 different supplies in there, instead of going out and buying every individual thing — the backpack itself can easily be $25.”
Once United Way gets the supplies into the schools’ hands, they distribute them as they see fit. Some even create pop-up shops, where families and students can take what they need.
Just like always, Running Start For School fills an important need in the community.
Without the correct supplies, learning becomes a little more difficult, especially for younger kids in kindergarten and elementary school. Questions can pop up from other classmates, asking ‘where’s your notebooks?’. It’s not necessarily malicious — more of the inquisitive nature of young kids — but the result is still negative. Students without the proper supplies are at greater risk for feeling left out, disengaged, and generally fearful of school.
By providing those missing tools, the Running Start for School Program gives kids the opportunity to be active members of their classroom.
“It means giving kids, essentially, all of the right tools to be able to be engaged and responsible for their own education,” says Pesch. “It’s really hard to be able to learn and focus in the classroom, take notes, do your homework, if you don’t have notebooks, if you don’t have pencils, or other things like that. I think the first step to participating [in class] is having those necessary supplies.”
The online donation portal will be open through August 8. Additionally, check with your employer to see if they are matching donations. Some local partners, like Scheels and Bremer Bank, are matching backpack donations in the hundreds — totaling thousands of dollars.
Cover photo licensed through Getty
