50 Boxes for 50 Students: Kids' Chance Cares is All About our Students!
Volunteers gathered together on Thursday, October 22, 2015 to stuff care packages for the 2015 Kids' Chance of Pennsylvania student scholarship recipients. The Kids' Chance mission is to provide scholarship grants for college and vocational education to children of Pennsylvania workers who have been seriously or fatally injured in a work-related accident resulting in financial need, making it difficult for deserving young people to pursue their educational dreams.
The Kids' Chance Cares program, new to the Kids' Chance repertoire, was created to be "all about the students." With over 50 recipients almost every year, the organization wanted to provide personal outreach and support to each of these students in addition to providing scholarship assistance. Kids' Chance is committed to doing everything possible to help these scholarship students succeed in reaching their educational goals.
"When I heard the word "gift card," I knew I had to be involved," says sponsor Sara Potter of the Delaware Valley RIMS. "My daughter used to get care packages in college and I saw how excited she'd get, no matter who sent the package. This is a great thing to be doing for Kids' Chance kids."
Donors sent a variety of items from granola bars to post-it notes, allowing volunteers to fill the boxes to the top (and wishing they were getting one themselves!). Once all of the boxes were packed in an assembly-like style amidst jokes and conversation, the volunteers gathered around the table to write personal notes to each of the students. These cards were placed on top of all the items in the box before being sealed and taken to the post office.
Thanks to our host, Burns White, shipping supplies sponsor Delaware Valley RIMS, and all of the item donors and volunteers for making the launch of this program a success. Kids' Chance hopes to repeat this program again next fall.
See photos from the event