School Nominations Now Being Accepted For Annual School Supply Giveaway
School Nominations Now Being Accepted For Annual School Supply Giveaway
BY KATHERINE NEWMAN
Back 2 School Illinois, a nonprofit organization that provides free school supplies for low-income students, is currently accepting applications for their annual giveaway that will provide essential school supplies for all of the students at two Chicago schools.
The annual Win School Supplies for an Entire School contest is a nomination based giveaway and the winning schools are chosen because they have a proven need for free school supplies. Every single student from both of the winning schools will receive their own Back 2 School kit full of the core supplies they’ll need for a successful school year.
“There are tons of schools in the City of Chicago where the students are predominantly from low-income families that are obviously struggling and parents are having to make tough decisions about what they are going to pay for,” said Matthew Kurtzman, chief executive officer of Back 2 School Illinois.
While there are so many schools in Chicago that are deserving of free school supplies, the organization can only pick two and for that reason they put a school’s need at the top of the priority list when reviewing applications, according to Kurtzman.
“There are so many schools that could certainly use the school supplies so we make sure that need is the biggest factor that we consider. A lot of times the nominations will provide us with statistics about how many students are from low-income families or in some cases the student body will have extra challenges and the nomination will share that with us as well,” said Kurtzman.
Aside from the annual Win School Supplies for an Entire School contest, Back 2 School Illinois partners with community organizations like the YMCA and government agencies like the Department of Child and Family Services to connect with students in need and serve as distribution partners for the Back 2 School kits.
“The biggest part of what we do is our free school supplies program, which is one piece of the puzzle that addresses the challenges we face here in Illinois with education,” said Kurtzman. “We provide these Back 2 School
kits from pre-k all the way up to seniors in high school. There are four different kits and each one is grade appropriate and contains the core basic school supplies that a kid would need to succeed in the classroom.”
Nominations for the Win School Supplies for an Entire School contest can be made online or by mail and anyone can submit any school in Chicago to be considered. In order to qualify for the 2019 contest, online nominations must be submitted by August 1 and nominations sent by mail must be received by Back 2 School Illinois no later than August 1.
The two winning Chicago schools will be selected over the summer and notified by August 10.
To access the nomination application, visit www.b2si.org/win-school-supplies-for-an-entire- school-contest.
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