Gloria Ferris

Remember the smell of that first box of crayons, using a protractor to create angles, or writing that first story on clean, fresh paper with a pencil with a sharp, sharp point.  Wouldn’t it be great to help other kids create those kinds of memories in their life?       

 Well, you can by helping make the Broadway Community School Fair a success.  Each year Sandy Charles and her crew at University Settlement have made the school year a little less stressful for parents at or below the poverty line in the Broadway area by providing school kits to schoolchildren ages 5 to 16.  In previous years, they have passed out 1500 boxes of school supplies to these children.

This year they plan to have a school fair on August 18th to pass out the boxes to the kids, but the boxes just might not be there.  Each year Ford Motor Company and their employees partnered with University Settlement and provided approximately 1000 boxes of the ones distributed.  Late last week, a Ford Motor representative called Sandy to tell her she will be receiving 300 boxes not the 1000 she had come to expect.  The reasons are many, the economy, early retirement, only one person left of a committee of several.  The reasons don’t really matter.  The bottom line is that University Settlement is approximately 700 boxes short of the goal.

Each school box contained a ream of paper, a binder, 2 or 3 folders, a pack of pencils,  all the things a student ready to learn needs at the beginning of a school year.  of course, the younger students need crayons, the older students need protractors and compasses.  The average cost of each school box averages out to around $15.  Do the math and you come up with a $10,000 figure.

i told Sandy that I would post her plight on the internet and ask for your help.  Checks help, but also donation of supplies would help.  If any of you know of a way to get donations of supplies to Sandy and her kids, or could get her supplies at wholesale prices rather than retail, or have some dollars to donate to a very good cause, please contact her using the information below.  I told her that many of us often talk about how to help in a meaningful way and this would be a very, very meaningful way.  I told her that many of us own businesses or belong to organizations that may be able to help.  So I have told you the problem, and know that many of you will help with a solution.  I know that this is a short fuse but she needs donations early next week (August 14th) so that she and her volunteers will have the time needed to buy supplies and make up the school boxes for the school fair next Saturday, August 18th. 

Here is Sandy’s contact information.  Sandy Charles, Director Hunger Programs and Volunteer Coordinator, 4800 Broadway, Cleveland, OH 44127.  Phone number 216-641-8948 ext. 236  FAX 216 641-7971.  email:scharles@universitysettlement.net.