NCJW's STUFF FOR SCHOOL PROGRAMS

For most of us it’s hard to imagine what it would be like to struggle to maintain the basics for our families – food and shelter –and to see school supplies as a luxury we simply cannot afford — but for so many families who live in our Minneapolis community, this is exactly the situation they find themselves in.

THE STUFF FOR SCHOOL UMBRELLA OF PROGRAMS has enabled NCJW to see the needs of students in the
Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) first hand and to respond in meaningful ways:

• STUFF FOR SCHOOL, now in its fourteenth year, has provided over 160,000 low-income
  K-8 students in MPS with the school supplies they need to start school ready to learn. Because NCJW solicits feedback from district administrators, curriculum specialists and educators, we know which supplies are most critical for students. We then work with vendors to find high quality supplies at the best price which enables us to serve nearly 14,000 students annually at a cost of only $3-$5/child.

• STUFFFOR KIDS provides additional resources for the highest risk among these students –those who find themselves homeless and highly mobile (HHM ): backpacks, uniform shirts, supplies to complete their homework, warm gloves and after-school snacks. In just three short years, Stuff for Kids has grown to serve nearly 75% of the annual K-8 HHM population and has delivered more than 25,000 snacks to children who don’t know when or from where their next meal will come.

• BOOKS FOR HOME provides homeless and highly mobile students with books to read and
  keep. By partnering with MPS literacy experts, this program matches students with books to read on the bus or with their families. In the past three years over 7,500 books have been paired with children in grades K-8.

• JENNY LIND TUTORING & MENTORING provides on-site tutoring and mentoring to
  students at Jenny Lind School in North Minneapolis. This past year the Jenny Lind program delivered over 16 hours of tutoring per week for thirty-eight weeks to more than 80 students… that translates to an average of nearly eight hours of individual tutoring per child served!

Thank you in advance for considering a donation to this amazing group of programs. Year after year, STUFF FOR SCHOOL PROGRAMS are making a difference in the lives of MPS’ students, their families and their schools. According to MPS Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson, “NCJW’s Stuff for School Programs help equalize the playing field for students.” We hope you’ll join us!