On April 14th and April 17th Goodwill Community Foundation (GCF), a Durham based nonprofit organization, gave away school supply kits to 520 students attending Booker T. Washington Elementary School in Clarkton, Plain View Primary School in Tar Heel and East Arcadia Elementary School in Riegelwood. Antonia Beatty, Title 1 Director, appeared at East Arcadia as representative of Title 1, which selected these 3 schools.
[slideshow_deploy id=’10591′]
BladenOnline.com visited the East Arcadia Elementary School campus, where Principal, Demetrice Johnson Jones, welcomed the community outreach. EAES provides grades K-8 and is normally a school where uniforms are required. However, in honor of the GCF presentation, all students were given the option of wearing their street clothes for a Casual Friday, by paying $1.00 for the privilege. (There was not a single uniform in the crowd.) The funds generated by the dress-down day will be used to pay the bail of Principal Jones later this month, when she participates in the local Jail-A-Thon fundraiser.
Every student at the schools received a gift package containing pencils, pencil sharpener, crayons, erasers, spiral notebooks, hand sanitizer, and scissors – essential tools that will support learning through the remainder of the school year. Packages were handed out by volunteers, Demetrius Green, and Sterling Thomas. (Special mention*** Sterling Thomas earned Beta hours for his participation as volunteer.)
This year GCF will distribute 5,000 school supply kits across more than 20 counties in eastern North Carolina as part of a partnership program with schools, libraries and youth programs. This is a demonstration of the GCF mission to create opportunities for a better life through supporting the academic success of children in eastern North Carolina, especially those living at or near poverty.”GCF is here because we believe that when a community comes together in the spirit of Volunteerism, all children benefit, and we are concerned about the educational development of North Carolina’s children”, said Stephanie McLean, Director of Regional Community Development for Goodwill Community Foundation. Reverend Dennis McLain, president of Goodwill Community Foundation said, “This vital tool kit must be used in order for students to see a benefit. We do this because we want to relieve some of the financial pressure faced by marginalized families. Our hope is that it will free up resources that can be put toward other areas of need.”
The total cost for GCF for each school supply kit is approximately $5. If a parent bought items for the same kit, it would cost them approximately $14.80, plus shopping time. For more information about GCF and how it supports students, families, and the people of eastern North Carolina, please visit http://www.GCFGlobal.org or call 919-941-9600
About Goodwill Community Foundation (GCF®) Goodwill Community Foundation (GCF®) continues to be a leader in an era of change by providing the training required for the emerging world where technology is integrated into everyday life. The mission of GCF® is to create and provide education, employment and life enrichment opportunities regionally, nationally and internationally for people who desire to improve the quality of their lives.
The GCF Community Foundation, a Durham-based tax-exempt organization, provides employment, fresh produce and volunteer opportunities, family services for parents with children with disabilities and free accounting services to youth programs across eastern North Carolina. GCFLearnFree.org and GCFAprendeLibre.org have provided free lessons for over 555,000 people in North Carolina since 2010 to improve their technology, math and English skills.
All GCF programs are funded through revenue generated from the value of donated items to 38 Goodwill Community Foundation stores throughout eastern North Carolina. GCF employs more than 400 people who earn an average of $20 per hour with benefits at these stores. For more information on GCF®, visit http://www.GCFGlobal.org
About Author
