Thursday, July 19, 2012

Can you spare $5 to help a student?

For many of us, $5 seems like pocket change. But not to low-income families. Your $5 has the power to help a low-income student participate in school. It can provide five bags of pretzels at snack time. It can cover field trip fees for 2-3 students. It can replenish a student’s lunch account when a family falls behind on payments. It can pay for a student’s weekly classroom magazine subscription. It can buy a pair of winter gloves. The Good Neighbor Project, of which our church is a partner, is gearing up for another school year of helping low-income Longfellow and Lakeshore students overcome financial hurdles that affect their ability to participate in school. Our annual fundraiser lets you reach out to these students. Good Neighbor Project donations have made a difference in school participation for hundreds of lowincome Longfellow and Lakeshore students. During the 2011-12 school year, Good Neighbor’s $5,000 total donation to those schools:

• Paid an $8 annual school fee for 255 low-income students, making it possible for them to go on field trips
• Covered shortfalls in students’ school lunch accounts when a family’s financial status changed
• Bought snacks, clothing, gloves, snow pants, school supplies, and a sling
• Purchased classroom magazines like Scholastic News
• Purchased exercise balls to use as chairs for students with attention difficulties (for some students, slight
• movement while sitting improves ability to focus)
• Purchased clothing for student victims of house fires so they could attend school
• Provided classroom birthday treats for a student. This newly funded item makes a difference for students whose families can’t provide a treat when everyone else brings one.

The families and school staff are deeply grateful for your past support.

During August you can sponsor a child for only $5. Each $5 donation will be designated by a paper doll hung on a clothesline at the entrance to Ingram Hall. Watch the clothesline fill up as contributions pour in! Multiply the number of students you want to sponsor times $5. Make checks payable to First Congregational Church with “Good Neighbor” in the memo line, or put cash in an envelope marked “Good Neighbor.” On behalf of the children you have helped and will help, thank you!

Good Neighbor Project partners are First Congregational Church, First Baptist Church, Lake Street United Methodist Church, and First Lutheran Church.

Questions? Contact Pam Braun, 715-832-2048 or braunp@att.net