To help local students prepare for a new school year, Guadalupe Center, the Immokalee-based nonprofit dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty through education, is hosting its 28th annual Back-to-School Shoes & Supplies Drive to provide students with new sneakers and school supplies.
The nonprofit organization is collecting new notebooks, writing utensils, art supplies, and other classroom items so that students are prepared when classes resume. This year’s school supplies drive is critically important as parents in Immokalee grapple with the economic hardships caused by COVID-19.
“Immokalee’s unemployment rate typically rises during the summer because agriculture jobs decrease, but this year, parents who work in retail, restaurants, hospitality, and other service jobs also are struggling financially,” said Dawn Montecalvo, president of Guadalupe Center. “To level the playing field, we as a community must ensure that all students have access to the supplies and resources necessary to succeed academically.”
The center will distribute supplies to students in its educational programs, including early childhood, tutoring, summer, and Tutor Corps programs. Guadalupe Center will also partner with Snyderman’s Shoes of Naples and the nonprofit Laces of Love to distribute new shoes to the center’s students in the coming weeks.
Guadalupe Center is accepting donations of the following supplies:
Paper products like composition notebooks, index cards, lined notebook filler paper, notebooks, and number cards.
Writing utensils like colored pencils, crayons, markers, and pencils.
Art supplies like blunt scissors, construction paper, glue, googly eyes, paint, paint brushes, pipe cleaners, and Play-Doh.
Classroom supplies like dry erase markers, paper plates, pencil sharpeners, pompoms, rulers, and 9×12 student lap whiteboards.
Cleaning supplies like alcohol, bleach, disinfectant wipes, face masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, and spray bottles.
Note: Supplies can be dropped off or mailed to Guadalupe Center at 509 Hope Circle, Immokalee, FL 34142; Guadalupe Center’s development office at 2640 Golden Gate Parkway, Suite 205, Naples, FL 34105; or Guadalupe Resale Shop, 12980 Tamiami Trail N., Suite 10, Naples, FL 34110. All donations are tax deductible. Monetary donations can be made online here .
Facebook Comments