Students Rally to Pack 750 Donated Backpacks
When Marc and Loretta Mares said they wanted to donate some backpacks and school supplies to University City Schools and other nearby districts, our administrative team expected to receive supplies for about 150 students.
But on Thursday, Aug. 1, so many backpacks and materials arrived, the District needed a forklift to load them off the truck.
There were 750 backpacks donated in all, along with boxes and boxes of school supplies to fill them. Members of the football squad and other University City High School athletes were put into action Thursday night to pack every knapsack with supplies. Most of the backpacks will be handed out at our Back to School Rally Tuesday evening, Aug. 6. Others will be sent to neighboring school districts.
The delivery was such a hit, a reporter from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch came by Thursday and wrote a story about our students working together to fill the backpacks. Read the full story here.
"This takes a lot of the stress off parents, but it's great for the kids who also volunteer," said Gary Spiller, executive director of student services and innovation. "We are definitely grateful for Mike and his wife."
For Jason Wells, University City High School football coach, the special delivery was a great opportunity for 20 of his players to give back to their community.
"We play hard but we work harder, and that's why we're here," Wells told the Post-Dispatch. "It's good for them to know how and actually serve their community."
Do you have something you would like to donate to our students to lessen their load? On Aug. 6 the District will be sponsoring "Pack the Bus", in which people are encouraged to bring school supplies, personal supplies, gently used clothing and other items to help our students. The clothing will eventually help stock Brittany Boutique, a special shop inside Brittany Woods Middle School for District families that may need some help in hard times.