Putting Pencils in the Hands of Future Leaders: Oakland Community College Partners with Operation: Kid Equip to Change Children's Lives
Royal Oak, MI, April 06, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Call it a lesson in social responsibility, the “pay it forward” concept, or just smart educating. Whatever you call it, Oakland Community College has partnered with Michigan-based Operation: Kid Equip on a college-wide school supply drive called “You can Be the Change in a Child’s Life.”
All five OCC campuses are collecting new or gently-used pencils, rulers, erasers, and other basic supplies so that elementary-level students in Oakland County who are eligible for the National Free and Reduced-Fee Lunch Program have the tools they need to become the college students, business owners, and employee base of the future. The drive takes place April 1 - 30.
“For many families in Oakland County, basic school supplies have become a luxury item,” states Menachem-Michael Kniespeck, co-founder of Operation: Kid Equip. “This partnership will give hundreds of elementary-level students the basic tools they need to learn, and current OCC students an opportunity to pitch in for the benefit of those who come after them.”
Approximately 51,000 children in Oakland County come from low or no-income families - families that struggle to make rent payments or buy groceries. Erasers, highlighters, and glue sticks are just not in their budgets. Operation: Kid Equip’s program provides backpacks full of the basic supplies to children involved in the National Free and Reduced-Fee Lunch Program.
“Teachers and principals across the county tell us the same thing,” Kniespeck states. “Needy students who are given the necessary tools are likely to be more engaged in learning, improve their test scores, and stay in school - all of which are the basis for their long-term educational and professional success.”
A complete list of the items requested for donation is located at www.operationkidequip.org/OKE_OCC_Drive.pdf [PDF], along with the room and phone numbers of the Student Life Offices of each campus, where the donation boxes are located.
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Operation: Kid Equip recognizes that in order to provide students with educational opportunities, we have to meet some very basic needs. Operation: Kid Equip acts as a conduit for collecting and distributing tangible goods and supplies to school-aged children. Operation: Kid Equip effects long term improvement in the community by providing kids with the bare and core necessities they need to prosper in school and in life.
Additional information and direct donation links are available online at http://www.operationkidequip.org, or by mail to Operation: Kid Equip, PO Box 364, Royal Oak, MI 48068-0364. For media interviews, call Operation: Kid Equip at 800.948.3169, or email menachem@operationkidequip.org. Operation: Kid Equip is a Michigan-based program of Congressional District Programs, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity.
For more information regarding the Oakland Community College involvement, call Donna Marie Merogi, MCC AmeriCorps VISTAVolunteer, at 248-522-3749
All five OCC campuses are collecting new or gently-used pencils, rulers, erasers, and other basic supplies so that elementary-level students in Oakland County who are eligible for the National Free and Reduced-Fee Lunch Program have the tools they need to become the college students, business owners, and employee base of the future. The drive takes place April 1 - 30.
“For many families in Oakland County, basic school supplies have become a luxury item,” states Menachem-Michael Kniespeck, co-founder of Operation: Kid Equip. “This partnership will give hundreds of elementary-level students the basic tools they need to learn, and current OCC students an opportunity to pitch in for the benefit of those who come after them.”
Approximately 51,000 children in Oakland County come from low or no-income families - families that struggle to make rent payments or buy groceries. Erasers, highlighters, and glue sticks are just not in their budgets. Operation: Kid Equip’s program provides backpacks full of the basic supplies to children involved in the National Free and Reduced-Fee Lunch Program.
“Teachers and principals across the county tell us the same thing,” Kniespeck states. “Needy students who are given the necessary tools are likely to be more engaged in learning, improve their test scores, and stay in school - all of which are the basis for their long-term educational and professional success.”
A complete list of the items requested for donation is located at www.operationkidequip.org/OKE_OCC_Drive.pdf [PDF], along with the room and phone numbers of the Student Life Offices of each campus, where the donation boxes are located.
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Operation: Kid Equip recognizes that in order to provide students with educational opportunities, we have to meet some very basic needs. Operation: Kid Equip acts as a conduit for collecting and distributing tangible goods and supplies to school-aged children. Operation: Kid Equip effects long term improvement in the community by providing kids with the bare and core necessities they need to prosper in school and in life.
Additional information and direct donation links are available online at http://www.operationkidequip.org, or by mail to Operation: Kid Equip, PO Box 364, Royal Oak, MI 48068-0364. For media interviews, call Operation: Kid Equip at 800.948.3169, or email menachem@operationkidequip.org. Operation: Kid Equip is a Michigan-based program of Congressional District Programs, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity.
For more information regarding the Oakland Community College involvement, call Donna Marie Merogi, MCC AmeriCorps VISTAVolunteer, at 248-522-3749
Contact
Operation: Kid Equip
Menachem-Michael Kniespeck
800-948-3169
www.operationkidequip.org
Menachem-Michael Kniespeck
800-948-3169
www.operationkidequip.org
Contact
Multimedia
Oakland Community College Drive Flyer
A complete list of the items requested for donation, along with the room and phone numbers of the Student Life Offices of each campus, where the donation boxes are located.
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