The Heights Foundation/The Heights Center is seeking individuals, businesses, churches, and organizations to provide school supplies and monetary donations for The Heights Center’s annual outreach program. The event will be held on July 25 at The Heights Center and provides backpacks and school supplies for 580 low-income children living in the Harlem Heights neighborhood.
“Our goal is to ensure that every child in Harlem Heights has the necessary supplies to succeed in school,” said Kathryn Kelly, president and CEO of The Heights Foundation. “The poverty rate for children in Harlem Heights is more than twice the county average. Parents are out of work due to the COVID-19 crisis and cannot provide all the things their student will need. We want to send our students back to school, ready to learn.”
The Center has a wish list that includes new and durable backpacks, 8-16 GB USB flash drives, 3-ring binders, basic and scientific calculators, colored pencils, composition books, crayons, dictionaries, dividers, earbuds/headphones, cap and block erasers, filler paper, folders, glue bottles and sticks, highlighters, index cards, markers, notebooks, pencil cases, pencil sharpeners, pencils, pens, rulers and scissors.
“We are looking for organizations whose members can band together to meet the need,” said Melissa Barlow, The Heights Center’s outreach coordinator. “The 580 backpacks are the largest investment, costing more than $7,000 and supplies for each student cost $25. A business may be able to sponsor the backpacks, a church or philanthropic organization could sponsor crayons, markers or notebooks. Because of COVID-19, we appreciate monetary donations more than ever. We can order in bulk and stretch the dollars even further.”
Thank you to our current businesses, organizations and communities that are supporting our school supply outreach:
- Crown Colony Community
- Estero Island Chapter – NSDAR
- Florida Blue
- FMHS National Honor Society
- Jason’s Deli
- Kelly Greens Community
- Peace Lutheran Church
- Re/Max Realty Group
- Scotlynn Group
- State Farm
- Temple Judea
- Westminster Presbyterian Church
- Zion Lutheran Church
Donations can be dropped off at The Heights Center, 15570 Hagie Drive, Fort Myers, 33908, Monday- Friday from 8:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. until July 23.
Individuals, businesses, churches or organizations interested in donating can contact Melissa Barlow at (239) 482-7706 or melissa@heightsfoundation.org. All donations are tax-deductible. Monetary donations can be made on the web at www.heightsfoundation.org/donate or mailed to The Heights Center, 15570 Hagie Drive, Fort Myers, FL 33908.
