school supplies

I'm happy to report that throughout my hiatus this fall, my family--without being asked--still came through to save the world. 

Without any crazy blog posts to prompt them, my mom and my sister still stocked up on school supplies for Ashleigh's school. She was so excited to get more goodies! Her class is bigger this year and her school is still in need of stuff for the kiddos to use. Thanks Mom and Jackie for being so thoughtful and making a difference in a small school on the other side of the state :)

If you'd like to donate school supplies at any time, feel free to pass items along to me, and I will get them to Miss Ashleigh.

Be the change. Make the difference.

my roommate is famous.

Remember last fall when we collected school supplies for my roommate Ashleigh's class at Great Lakes Academy? Well her classroom (and school) is now famous (sort of)!

Due to the children's increased scores on MEAP testing, the school received a $7,320 bonus from the State. Obviously, this is due mainly to their awesome teachers and how great they are at their jobs. I am so proud that my college roommate is doing such great things! Read the full article here. 

I mean seriously! FRONT PAGE NEWS! :) Doesn't she look great?! Thanks to everyone who donated school supplies to these kids so that they are prepared for Miss Ashleigh's class!

Be the change. Make the difference.

great lakes thank you!

 

As some of you may or may not know, I LOVE getting snail mail. Opening the mail box to nothing but bills gets rather old, don't you think? 

However, today there were no bills.....instead I received one of the best things EVER. It was a beautiful handmade book of thank you notes from Ashleigh's 3rd grade class at Great Lakes Academy! 

Each student hand wrote a thank you, and also colored a picture to go with it. It was one of the greatest thank you notes I've ever gotten, and I needed to share it with you since YOU made it happen :)

 

Thanks to EVERYONE who made this school supply drive a success. Because of YOU, these kids are off to a great start of their school year. Don't worry, I will be sure to hold on to this book forever :) so let me know if you want to see it.












And speaking of how awesome all of you are, I have yet another school supply donation from my friend Lynne! She is donating even more notebooks for the kids, and I will be giving these to Ashleigh this weekend. Thanks Lynne!

Be the change. Make the difference. 

school supply delivery!

On Monday I got to take all of our school supplies over to Ashleigh at Great Lakes Academy. Here is the final FINAL list (I had some more things added from my mom!):  

*42 (24 packs) of crayons               
*9 boxes of band aids                    
*2 large hanitizer for refills                   
*8 hanitizers                                         
*7 hand soaps                                            
*1 sticky note pad                                     
*3 scotch tapes                           
*4 cans of wipes                           
*55 folders                                
*53 notebooks                             
*4 box of Kleenex            
*308 pens
*582 pencils
*36 glue sticks
*16 (12 pack) colored pencils
*15 (10 pack) markers
*1550 sheets of paper
*6 dry erase markers
*32 highlighters
*32 rulers  
*2 (100 ct) ziplock bags
*4 elmer's glue 

I was able to meet a lot of the teachers and administration, as well as hang out with Ashleigh and her kids for a while. Not all of the kids had the supplies they needed to start the school year out. Some were sent with only a few things, but lacked some essentials like their own pencil to write with. Ashleigh also sent home a list of items needed for the classroom (with things like Kleenex, hanitizer, etc.), and not one thing was brought back. 

Miss Ashleigh showing the kids all the good stuff!

 



So, it was really great to see the excitement on the teachers and students faces seeing all of the supplies because they truly needed it. The kids were especially excited to be able to pick out there very own notebook to use as a journal. With all of our donations we were able to stock up Ashleigh's class with plenty left over to pass out to other classrooms! The kids helped us set out the rest of the supplies for other teachers to take, and Ashleigh said by lunch time that day all of it was gone.






It amazes me how every new thing I put on here, there is always a great outcome. Like I said previously, there were only six people who donated and this is what we did. And I still have items to collect from a seventh person (don't worry Lynne, I'll get your stuff!). 

Me with the kids from Ashleigh's class and the other third grade class.

This proves to me a few very important things. First, I have THE BEST family, friends and followers. This couldn't have happened without you. And second, a few people can make such a huge difference. So thank you, once again, to Mom, Jackie&Joffrey, Barb&Richie, Sharon, Denise and Dad&Susie. You guys are simply amazing.

Be the change. Make the difference.   

school supplies!

I am heading over to see Ashleigh this weekend (after some family birthday fun, of course!), and I am really excited about it. We have a TON of stuff for her school--I can't wait to show her all of it.


Here is the grand total -- including a last minute donation from my dad:

*42 (24 packs) of crayons
*4 boxes of band aids
*2 large hanitizer for refills
*3 hanitizers
*7 hand soaps
*1 sticky note pad
*3 scotch tapes
*4 cans of wipes
*55 folders
*33 notebooks
*4 box of Kleenex
*308 pens
*390 pencils
*36 glue sticks
*16 (12 pack) colored pencils
*15 (10 pack) markers
*1550 sheets of paper
*6 dry erase markers
*12 highlighters
*17 rulers  
*2 (100 ct) ziplock bags
*4 elmer's glue

This is amazing to me mostly because when I think about it, there have only been six different people to donate this time around. But these six really are making a huge difference on the lives of the kids at Great Lakes Academy. Stay tuned next week for pictures of my visit!

Be the change. Make the difference.

a few things.

This post will be a little all over the place, so bare with me here :)

First, check out how adorable my niece is. I do like to brag about her, but I'm also posting this picture so you can see my awesome Wild Fire Tee I bought to benefit those effected by the fire in Colorado. It is perfect fitting, comfy and best of all it is helping save the world. I'd love to see your pictures if you bought one too....or click here if you still need to get yours!

Second, I received a great donation this weekend from my sister Jackie for Ashleigh's school, Great Lakes Academy. There were also a few ladies from her work who bought school supplies as well....so thank you to Sharon and Denise from the Chocolate Factory. You rock! Between the three of them, we added the following:

*18 (24 packs) of crayons
*2 boxes of band aids
*1 large hanitizer
*2 cans of wipes
*15 folders
*4 notebooks
*1 box of Kleenex
*268 pens
*324 pencils
*24 glue sticks
*14 (12 pack) colored pencils
*12 (10 pack) markers
*8 (100 pack) paper
*6 dry erase markers
*12 highlighters
*17 rulers

Nice work ladies :)

There is still plenty of time to get your donation to me! I am heading over to Great Lakes Academy the second weekend in September, so email me at bethechangemakethedifference@gmail.com if you have a donation. Click here to view the list of needed items again.

Be the change. Make the difference.

the loot so far.

So my friend Ashleigh teaches at Great Lakes Academy in Pontiac, and as you know I am collecting school supplies for her. This coming year, she will be teaching third grade. Our donation will hopefully be big enough to help her class, as well as the other classes in the school. 

Here is what Ash had to say about her time so far as a teacher:

"My first year of teaching was incredible!  It is by far the most

challenging yet rewarding adventure in my life.  I love each of my

kids- their personalities are amazing and they have taught me in

return. Thank you for your support and encouragement!"

 Here is what we have collected so far: 

*3 small hanitizer bottles (what my niece Sidney used to call hand sanitizer)

*1 giant hanitizer bottle

*24 (24 pack) of crayons

*2 boxes of band aids

*2 containers of disinfecting wipes

*3 hand soaps

*40 folders

*25 spiral notebooks

*3 boxes of Kleenex

*20 pens

*66 #2 pencils

*3 scotch tapes

*12 glue sticks

*1 sticky note pad (LOVE sticky notes!)

*2 (12 pack) colored pencils

*3 (10 pack) markers

*5 (150 pack) of wide ruled paper

This is A LOT of stuff already! And we still have a few more weeks before the delivery date! If you have a donation you would like to get to me, email me at bethechangemakethedifference@gmail.com and we can set up a time. Lets make sure EVERY child at Ashleigh's school is prepared for this school year!

Be the change. Make the difference.

august already?!

Can you believe it's August already?! This only means one thing...time to shop for school supplies! I am collecting school supplies for my friend Ashleigh who teaches by Detroit. Last year, she ran out of basic things like bandaids, Kleenex, etc. Help make the school year great for her and her kids and get your school stuff to me before Labor Day! 

I heard a rumor that Target has spiral notebooks on sale for $.50 each...soo you should head there :)

Aren't her kids adorable? I can't wait to take our donations over and meet these little guys! 

Thanks to Aunt Barb who not only was there for moral support for the the big chop last week, but also gave me a huge school supply donation AND pop tab donation for the Ronald McDonald House of Western Michigan! Nice work Barbie!

Be the change. Make the difference.

first donation!

I received the first donation for Great Lakes Academy this weekend from of course, my mother! She said these boxes of crayons were on sale for $.50 each at Target. I love Target. So I got inspired and did some shopping there myself. They have such great deals there for school supplies right now, and they even have coupons for some of the stuff so it's even better! I got a ton of stuff for only around $50! 

Contact me at bethechangemakethedifference@gmail.com if you would like to make a donation to Ashleigh's school. Let's make it so none of the teachers have to worry about running out of supplies this year! Here is the list again of most needed items:


*Backpacks
*#2 Pencils
*Rulers
*Ballpoint Pens
*Compass
*Clorox Wipes
*Hand Sanitizer
*Pocket Folders
*Highlighters
*Colored Pencils
*Protractors
*Gallon-sized Plastic Bags
*Spiral Notebooks
*Markers
*Notebook Paper
*Dry Erase Markers
*Kleenex
*Band Aids

Be the change. Make the difference.  

the next big thing.

I've known my friend Ashleigh since we were seventeen. I met her at the greatest place on earth, Camp Arcadia, where we worked end of season and were Crafty Ladies. And then we became friends forever. We both went to Grand Valley, then became roommates, and somewhere in between all of that, this caring, hilarious, spontaneous, and genuinely nice person became one of my best friends. 

Now, Ash teaches at a school in Pontiac, called Great Lakes Academy, which is a Title 1 school. She is the perfect person to be there, because she is so optimistic, no matter what the situation.

Do you know what Title 1 means? 

Title 1 is the largest federal funded education program in the United States. Authorized by Congress, it provides supplemental funds to school districts to assist eligible public and private schools with the highest student concentration of poverty to meet school educational goals.

Ashleigh spent her first year teaching a classroom working hard to help kids whose families are struggling. But unfortunately, she had to do it while having to divvy up markers because there wasn't enough to go around. And using toilet paper as tissue because they ran out of Kleenex. And buying band aids for her kids out of her own pocket because the school simply didn't have any left. 

Most kids, at the start of the school year, are sent home with a list of school supplies they need for the year. But what do you do if you know the parents can't afford to buy the items anyway? Let alone donate any other items that may benefit the entire school, like band aids and Kleenex.

This is where you and I come in :) I will be collecting school items from now through Labor Day to give to Miss Ashleigh, to give to her kids, so these children can get the education they deserve.

Will you help? Here is a list of items needed:

*Backpacks
*#2 Pencils
*Rulers
*Ballpoint Pens
*Compass
*Clorox Wipes
*Hand Sanitizer
*Pocket Folders
*Highlighters
*Colored Pencils
*Protractors
*Gallon-sized Plastic Bags
*Spiral Notebooks
*Markers
*Notebook Paper
*Dry Erase Markers
*Kleenex
*Band Aids

Contact me at bethechangemakethedifference@gmail.com if you are interested in making a donation.

Be the change. Make the difference.