For many of our children, the beginning of school means a trip to Staples, Office Max or Target with a long list of school supplies.
It’s a yearly rite of passage, and many hours are spent selecting just the right colorful binder or sparkly gel pen.
But for more than a third of the elementary school children in Evanston, it’s a difficult and anxious time.
After many years of teaching in Evanston School District 65, now-retired teacher Priscilla Smith was determined to fill the overwhelming need she saw in the classroom everyday. Joining with local realtor and District 65 parent Andi Wich, she founded Kids and School Supplies (KASS) in 2000.
“I couldn’t stand having to ask children in the first week of school if they had all of their supplies,” Smith says. “Kids would make excuses—my mom’s check hasn’t come; I left them at home—and it was heartbreaking. I wanted them to start out the first day of school and have [their supplies] like everybody else. I believe that kids who come prepared to school have a better attitude, and it levels the playing field.”
Armed with a start-up grant from the Evanston Community Foundation, Wich and Smith approached the manager of the local Office Depot, then located at Dempster Plaza, who eagerly signed on to help fulfill their vision of equipping kids in need with backpacks and all the supplies to fill them. That first year, nearly 1,000 children were served. In the past 9 years, they’ve served as many as 1,700 kids annually.
But the Privacy Act has made things a little more difficult as they struggle to contact all of the families that are in need.
KASS’s base of distribution has moved from that Office Depot to the Evanston Public Library, where for 2 days each August, children flock to take their turn “shopping” for school supplies with their own “personal shopper” (usually an older student or other volunteer). The smiles on their faces when they leave with a bag full of colorful crayons and markers, spiral notebooks, folders, paper and more make this labor of love worthwhile for Smith and Wich and all involved with the program.
A donation of $110 provides two middle school children “with all they need to be successful, including a scientific calculator,” while for $40, a brand new backpack will be put to good use. To find out more about KASS or to make a donation, visit www.kidsandschoolsupplies.org.
