“Prepare to Succeed, Summer Read, Help Students in Need”
District 204 Community-Wide Service Project
One of the goals of the Unity Committee is to create opportunities to develop district cohesiveness and community spirit through district-wide service projects that benefit the Indian Prairie School District 204 community. In an effort to help all Indian Prairie School District 204 students succeed and develop a life-long love for reading, IPPC, in cooperation with Anderson’s Bookshop, was proud to sponsor “Prepare to Succeed, Summer Read, Help Students in Need”, a District 204 Community-Wide Service Project in May 2007. IPPC collected new books for grades K-12 and basic school supplies. District residents received 20% off books purchased at Anderson’s Bookshop to benefit the IPPC book drive effort. Illinois PTA donated 70 backpacks to the council, which where used for this project.
The collection efforts were a huge success. IPPC was able to fill 70 backpacks with school supplies and age-appropriate reading material across all grade levels. The contents of the backpacks were based on the type of donations and the number of each item received. All backpacks were able to be filled with some combination of the following items: pocket folders, spiral notebooks, filler notebook paper, glue/glue sticks, pencils, pens, crayons, colored pencils, and markers. In addition to these general supply items, elementary grade level backpacks contained a pencil pouch or box and five to seven grade level books; middle and high school backpacks contained at least one three-ring binder, a dry erase marker and two to five grade level books. Building principals requested grade level backpacks for their school community based on their school’s specific need. The filled backpacks were distributed to various schools across the district in mid-summer and were given to students in these school communities.