BACK TO SCHOOL ILLINOIS CONTINUES MISSION, INSPIRES STUDENTS

Back to School Illinois has a Build-a-kit initiative in which it provides the opportunity for organizations to purchase school supplies in bulk and put the kits together as a team building exercise. Photo courtesy of Back to School Illinois
Back to School Illinois has a Build-a-kit initiative in which it provides the opportunity for organizations to purchase school supplies in bulk and put the kits together as a team building exercise. Photo courtesy of Back to School Illinois

Back to School Illinois continues mission, inspires students

BY TIA CAROL JONES

Back to School is continuing its mission to provide much needed supplies to children who live in challenging homes and added something new to inspire those students to excel, Notes of Inspiration.

The 10-year-old organization provides scholarships and school supplies for students in the form of grade-appropriate kits, which include everything from note cards to binders to crayons, pens and pencils. Last year, the organization distributed 30,000 kits throughout the state of Illinois.

Back to School works with schools and school districts, as well as the YMCA and community organizations to identify what schools and students in communities will benefit from receiving the school supplies it provides.

Matthew Kurtzman is the CEO of Back to School Illinois. He said the Notes of Inspiration program was part of the organization’s launch of the Build-A-Kit initiative where organizations could purchase school supplies in bulk and put the kits together as a team building exercise.

The initiative was created in 2015 and is a very popular program. Inside those kits, people write notes to students to inspire them to do well in school.

Kurtzman said the Notes of Inspiration program is about providing kids with tools they need to “boost their self-esteem” and “self-worth, adding, “The kids that get our kits come from challenging homes.” He explained the note is meant to encourage them to make the most of their time in school, to make friends, to study hard, to sign up for different activities and to let them know “there is someone out there rooting for them.”

Kurtzman said there has been research in the role self-esteem plays in a child’s life when it comes to how it correlates to their performance in school. He said the organization expanded the note part of the Build-A-Kit initiative to make sure every kid who received a school supply kit, also received a Note of Inspiration.

“We started working with some organizations. Then, when COVID-19 came along and we realized people were stuck at home, but they want to do something, they want to give back, they want to help, they see all the first responders doing some amazing things, but they’re worried about their own safety and well-being. So, we created the Notes of Inspiration Home Edition,” he said.

People can order the 6-by-8 note cards from the Back to School Illinois website and write notes of encouragement, mail them back to the organization and it will put the notes into the kids they distribute throughout the school year.

“So, it’s a simple volunteer program. People can do a few, they can do many,” he said. It’s a great way to give back and certainly, it’s a great volunteer activity because people can do it anytime,” he continued. “We’re always needing notes,” he said.

Kurtzman said because of social distancing due to COVID-19, the organization has not been able to send out its Build-A-Kit to companies, adding when schools closed, students left what they had and so the organization provided some kits to students. Distributions will also be made during the summer months, he said.

He said they’re always looking for folks to support their efforts, whether it’s through volunteering or whether it’s through making donations. “People should be supporting educational endeavors,” Kurtzman said.

For more information about Back to School Illinois, visit www.b2si.org.

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