Other titles for this post: Me and Binder Paper OR Ways to Make an Impact OR You Are a Hope Dealer

My Favorite Christmas Gift

You may have already heard/read the story about my favorite Christmas gift. If you haven’t, here it is in the nutshell. Most kids want the latest toys but my most favorite and memorable Christmas gift was a pack of binder paper. (Because you may have noticed I’m a woman of many words on paper/screen.) When it was mentioned that some kids didn’t even have anything to draw on except a grocery bag when schools closed during shelter-in-place, it hit home because that most certainly would have been me had this virus hit when I was a kid. My siblings and I had enough and never felt like we didn’t have enough, but anything extra was such a luxury, always slightly out of reach.

So it’s no wonder that when my friend Stephanie messaged me one day and asked if we could chat about her new nonprofit, it didn’t take long for me to get on board for the upcoming backpack drive. Another one of our friends put together an inventory and budget file, and be still my nerdy-numbers-loving heart! We are anticipating 30 students in Kindergarten to sixth grade participating in the program this year through Oakland and possibly Hayward schools. So some quick calculations of the general supplies showed the backpacks would be approximately $50 each. But these backpacks aren’t your typical basic supplies drive backpacks. These students that Stephanie and her team are working with aren’t getting generic school supply backpacks. These will be tailored so that kids have what they need for school, for recreation, for reading practice, and for our instructional program in reading, math, and classwork tutoring.

Let’s Do The Math (aka This is Our Goal)

So let’s go back to the numbers because I was a finance major. We’ve already figured out that:

30 backpacks x $50 a backpack = $1500

Let’s do some more math. I’m going to go with $5 for the example.

$1500 / $5 = 300

If I can find 300 people to each put in $5, we could set some students up for success this year. Facebook doesn’t send every post to every friend, so I’m going to count on some shares to get the word out.

So What Does This Mean?

This means we’re going to need YOUR HELP! I’ve learned that every dollar DOES matter, so if that’s all you have to offer, it is enough! If you don’t have a dollar, you’re helping by just spreading the word and sharing the social media posts. I’ve also learned that every share DOES matter too! If you have more than a dollar, whatever you have to offer will be used to do amazing things. We have 18 days, so let’s do this! 👊

Not Just Backpacks

We aren’t just simply filling backpacks. We’re filling students with hope for their school year. We’re filling families and teachers with hope for our community. We’re filling the community with hope for our future.

Ways to Make an Impact

1) Sponsor a Backpack. Easy Peasy!

⭐️ http://alivestudents.org – Want to read more first? Check the site.
⭐️ http://bit.ly/fillabackpack2020 – Want to donate directly? Select “ALIVE Cultivate Student Success” to make your donation.

2) Shop the Online Wishlist:

*Note: This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
⭐️ on Amazon: *https://amzn.to/3bkUUsq

3) Fundraiser (like me!)

– Hold a Bake / Craft / Yard sale
– Ask 50 friends to donate $1.
– Ask 10 friends to donate $5.
– Create a read / walk / jog-a-thon.

4) SHARE! SHARE! SHARE!

Text or email a friend. Share any of the social media posts. Tell everyone you see or meet!

Facebook | Instagram | Website | LinkedIn
@alivestudentsk6 | #alivestudentsk6

Hear part of Stephanie’s story:

*Note: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a tiny percentage if you make a purchase through my link at no extra cost to you. Read my disclosure policy here.