The end of the summer has been busier than usual at Volunteers of America! We began the summer with our inaugural Camp POSTCARD, once again hosted Youth Summer Institute, and wrapped up the summer with a record size school supply drive.
For the last 15 years, Volunteers of America and 9News have teamed up for Stuff for Students. Thanks to great support from the community, this year we collected over $60,000 worth of supplies and donations, distributing over 40 industrial pallets of supplies to 15 different schools districts across the Denver Metro area. On top of the supplies that went directly into the classrooms, we were able to outfit approximately 475 homeless or financially struggling students with new backpacks full of supplies.
None of this would have been possible without the great community partners who helped us collect supplies and promote this important cause. King Soopers collected cash donation at their registers throughout the month of August and provided dozens of volunteers to help sort supplies. Larry H. Miller Dealerships, the Denver Broncos, Integer, and Water World all collected supplies at their locations, helping us get even more people involved in this year’s drive. Bright Horizons Preschool made collecting supplies a fun game for parents, teachers and kids and ended up delivering a bus FULL of supplies.
We wanted to take a moment to thank all of the countless community members who donated at King Soopers, dropped off schools supplies, or volunteered to help organize all of the collections; this year was huge success! Thanks to your efforts, hundreds of kids confidently returned to school with the supplies they need to learn and succeed.