Push for Pencils Blog
KidSmart Kids Say Thank You
Reading the Thank-You letters that our KidSmart students write is one of the most rewarding aspects of working for KidSmart. For me, I am reminded of why I became involved in this organization in the first place—for the kids. Take a moment to read a letter we received from a 5th grader named DeJuan:
Dear KidSmart,
At the beginning of each school year, you know the first day is going to be rough because you already haven’t met your teacher’s expectations. Your teacher expects you to bring all kinds of school supplies and when your parents can’t afford them you become ‘that kid.’ You know, the kid who walks in with nothing on the first day. I was always ‘that kid.’ Not because my mom didn’t want to provide the supplies, but she couldn’t. I’ve always been ‘that kid’ until KidSmart. KidSmart makes me not be ‘that kid’ anymore. KidSmart makes me know that someone does care about me and my education. I am so grateful for KidSmart.”
-DeJuan
Posted by Shirey on October 22, 2008 | comments (3) | Permalink
A Need Remains
In the midst of all the excitement surrounding KidSmart, Push for Pencils, and back to school shopping, I got to thinking about the severe reality that thousands of children in St. Louis face each year in the classroom. Over 80,000 kids in St. Louis go back to school each fall empty handed, lacking the school supplies they need in order to succeed in school. No, that wasn’t a typo… more than 80,000 kids cannot afford basic school supplies, like pencils, pens, and notebooks.
Without pencils and paper, effective learning becomes an uphill battle; classroom activities are limited and homework is essentially impossible.
KidSmart’s mission is to empower children in need to succeed in school by providing essential tools for learning. It’s amazing how we can STUFF our warehouse to its brim with school supplies, yet still not satisfy the need in its entirety. This school year, Kidsmart will provide 45,000 of these students with tools for learning, but that still leaves over 35,000 kids lacking the supplies they need to succeed in school.
I’m not writing this to be a pessimist by any means...It is SO rewarding to be a part of KidSmart’s initiative, to witness the donated supplies pour into the KidSmart warehouse, to help teachers gather supplies to take back to their students, and to know that this year more students will start the school year with adequate supplies than did last year...But at the same time, we all must remember that a need remains; there are thousands of additional kids that we still do not serve and we can still do more.
Are you interested in joining the KidSmart cause? Send me an email at and find out how YOU can help KidSmart help more kids.
Posted by Shirey on September 05, 2008 | comments (1) | Permalink
Our Warehouse is Packed!!
Right now is such an exciting time for KidSmart! Our warehouse is CHOCKED FULL of supplies, and there is hardly room to walk around back there! Our fantastic volunteers are feverishly working to tally the donations and move the supplies to the KidSmart store so that teachers may shop for free supplies for their classrooms.
Even though we have more supplies than our warehouse can hold at the moment, 11 more large donations are expected to arrive at KidSmart in the next day or so, and we are still waiting for others as well. THANK YOU to everyone who has participated this year… you are improving the education of thousands of students in St. Louis and helping to provide them with a brighter future.
We hope to have final numbers of supplies donated this year within the next week or so. Make sure to check back for updates on this year’s success…
Posted by Shirey on September 04, 2008 | comments (0) | Permalink
KidSmart’s Ice Cream Social
In case you were unable to join us for the Ice Cream Social last Friday, here are a few more updates on the event and donations that we received…
Enterprise donated 3 large cargo vans for us to use to pick up the supplies from various buildings throughout St. Louis. At 8:30 Friday morning, three Enterprise volunteers, including Keith Hoefferlin and board member Shannon Ranson, and three of our staff members, Christy, Danielle, and Connie, departed from KidSmart to collect supplies around the city and bring them back to our warehouse. Keith and Danielle collected supplies from 6 drives, Shannon collected supplies from 10, and Christy and Connie collected supplies from 13.
Meanwhile, Jennifer stayed back at KidSmart, working diligently to set up everything for the party, and she did an absolutely fantastic job! Quik Trip also donated 100 delicious sandwiches and cookies for the event.
After much anticipation, the trucks finally arrived back at KidSmart, completely STUFFED with school supplies for kids in St. Louis. It was an exciting, fulfilling, and moving moment for everyone present.
Many of our other participants also dropped off the supplies they raised this month. All told, supplies from nearly 35 drives arrived at KidSmart on Friday! While we do not have an estimates of how many supplies have been donated to this year’s drive, I’ll post information about this as soon as we have it.
CW 11 sent a news crew to the event and footage aired in the Friday evening news. A reporter from The North County Journal also attended. Check their website soon for an article about the event.
THANK YOU to Enterprise and its volunteers for donating both trucks and personal time, and and THANK YOU to QT for the making sure all who attended were well fed!!
Posted by Shirey on September 04, 2008 | comments (0) | Permalink
Wrapping Up Push for Pencils 2008
As of August 31st, Push for Pencils 2008 officially ended. To celebrate the success of this year’s drive, we invited our participants and volunteers to join us for an ice cream social this past Friday. The ice cream social was a blast for everyone who attended, and I’ll be posting pictures from the event soon.
Though some of our participants are hosting drives which will continue into early September, the majority have completed their drives. Supplies are arriving at KidSmart each day, and our fantastic volunteers are diligently counting every pencil, notebook, and package of markers that enter the KidSmart warehouse. Check back soon for updates on the total number supplies and dollars donated this year to help St. Louis kids…
Posted by Shirey on September 02, 2008 | comments (0) | Permalink
Spreading the Word
Making a donation to the charity or organization of your choice, or volunteering your time to a cause you belive in are two great ways to give back to your community and make a difference in the world. While I always feel great after doing either of these, I often find myself wishing that I had more money or more time to donate. Still, I must ground myself with the reality that I alone cannot save the world. So then what...?
I think the next best thing that anyone can do is to simply talk about it. Talk to people about whatever cause you are passionate about; tell your friends and family about it, and why you belive in it. Ask them to get involved, and then if they find themselves sharing your passion, ask them to pass it along as well. It’s amaizing how quickly things can spread through the power or word of mouth.
So, if you are one of our dedicated volunteers or regular donors, and you are looking to do more, please pass along the KidSmart message to others you know; tell them about KidSmart, what it means to you, and ask them to get involved and help you make a bigger difference.
Posted by Shirey on August 22, 2008 | comments (2) | Permalink
Push for Pencils Updates
As of 6:00PM today, I am proud to announce that we have raised $11,475 and 146,881 school supplies for St. Louis kids through Push for Pencils!! These numbers are SO exciting, but we are still quite a bit short of reaching our goals of $50,000 and 385,000 supplies.
THANK YOU to everyone who has made a donation this August! You are making a huge difference in the lives of these kids, enhancing their education and giving them a better chance to succeed in school.
Want to get invloved or make a contribution? Send me an email at and ask me what you can do!
Posted by Shirey on August 22, 2008 | comments (0) | Permalink
Thank You from the Kids
After looking back over my last post I remembered one of my favorite parts of working with KidSmart: reading the “Thank You” notes that kids send us after their teachers bring them school supplies from KidSmart. These kids are extremely greatful for the the supplies we give them, and reading their heart-felt words is a fulfilling, moving, and occasionally emotional experience. Most of the letters are short - no more than a few sentences - but they are honest and endearing and they remind me of how important KidSmart’s mission truly is. Here are a couple we’ve received recently:
Thank you for all you have given us. If I didn’t have them, I wouldn’t have anything for school. Our school loves KidSmart and I do too.
Your Friend, Demetrius
I want to say thank you so much for the school supplies. I really needed them. Thanks for the pencils. Now I don’t have to ask other people for them. Thank you for all of your support.
From, Karey
These are just a couple of the endless amounts of letters KidSmart receives each year from kids we have served. Think back to elementary school and how exciting it was to go shopping for your brand new pencils, unopened boxes of crayons, and perfectly fresh markers; or how important is was to find the perfect folder with your favorite superhero or cartoon character on the front… These were the things that got me excited about going back to school each year. If we can get more children excited about learning by providing them with new and exciting school supplies, I think we are doing our job.
Posted by Shirey on August 21, 2008 | comments (0) | Permalink
Remembering the Kids
It’s now August 21st, and only 10 days remain in the Push for Pencils supply drive. So far, this drive has been extremely successful. Each day new donations arrive at the KidSmart Warehouse, and each week teachers shop at the KidSmart store, collecting the supplies for the kids in their classrooms. As the Push for Pencils supply drive continues, though, I wonder sometimes if everyone involved remembers exactly why we do this drive…
When I visited KidSmart for the very first time, I watched a video of local St. Louis children, proclaiming their goals for the future and what they wished to be when they grew up to be adults. The movie was short, but it definitely moved me.
And that’s exactly what all of us need to remember as we push through the final 10 days of this supply drive… THE KIDS. KidSmart and Push for Pencils exist solely for the purpose of providing local children with the tools they need to succeed in the classroom. Our mission is to paint a brighter future for these kids and empower them so that they may be whatever they wish to be when they are adults. Without basic school supplies (like pencils, paper, crayons, markers, and glue), these kids face an uphill battle…
Thank you again to everyone who has contributed to KidSmart this year and in the past. YOU make it possible for us to serve these children… to find out more about how you can help, please comment here, or send me an email at .
Posted by Shirey on August 21, 2008 | comments (0) | Permalink
Updates
It’s the end of day 19 of Push for Pencils and we have received some fantastic donations!! Our kids are starting to head back to school, and it is more important that ever that the KidSmart store be stocked for teachers who come to shop each week.
Posted by Shirey on August 19, 2008 | comments (0) | Permalink