A huge thank you to all our Spurwinkians and dedicated community partners who contributed to this year’s school supply drive, helping children and families to start the 2022-23 school year off on the right foot. Over $1,000 in cash and gift cards, and hundreds of school supplies were donated to Spurwink Education Services and Outpatient and Community Service programs. A special thank you to Boulos Asset Management and The Boulos Company, The Woods at Canco Senior Retirement Living, Volk Packaging Corporation & Volk Paxit, and Southern Maine Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery for their very generous employee drives and donations.
By donating to the school supply drive, you helped:
- Caseworkers meet the needs of the kids they work with, so they had their backpacks filled that first day of school with all the supplies they needed;
- Supply tools for teachers to support students like Richard, a student in our therapeutic preschool who was non-verbal when he started, but now, with support from educators, is able to put 3-5 picture icons on a sentence strip to make a request, answer a question, or comment upon his environment;
- Fund finger-paints and craft supplies for students to express their thoughts and emotions and create their own masterpieces;
- Fund gift cards for families to experience the joy of back-to-school shopping and the ability to pick out that backpack or lunch box that fits their style; and
- Supply fidget toys to students to help keep anxiety at bay while trying to focus on a math lesson.
We know that school readiness is linked to academic success, and improved social, economic, and health outcomes for children and families. And while the impacts of the pandemic have brought added hardship to the individuals and families we serve, donations from our community help ensure students are set up to learn optimally and building resilience to be successful in the upcoming school year. Thank you!
