We talked about this on Monday night’s IT in the D broadcast – take advantage of the fact that stores already have “Back To School!” sales going on, and help us help some kids tomorrow night during our casual networking event for professionals in and around the metro Detroit information technology industry.
We’ve done events a couple of times to help out Operation: Kid Equip over the years, and as it turns out, they really need some help now, and so we’re all over it…
The good folks who run Operation: Kid Equip went over to the warehouse the other day…
…and yeah, you know all those storms we’ve been having? That rain that’s been coming down?
Turns out the warehouse wasn’t exactly waterproof, and so a lot of supplies got lost and/or damaged.
If you’re not familiar with Operation: Kid Equip and all of the cool stuff they do, you can read about them at their site: http://operationkidequip.org/
Short version: they help underprivileged kids get everything they need to be in school.
Good cause, we’re all about it, and away we go.
So, next Thursday night at our casual networking event, we’re going to be collecting donations to help them get back on their feet and fully stocked. What can you donate?
Donate Supplies – Kids’ Wish List
Every donation helps you reach out to another local child in need.
People will often ask about the types of supplies the kids need. With the flow of donated supplies in and out of OKE, it’s sometimes hard to quickly list the most current needs.
Here is a listing of the most requested school supplies the kids need throughout the school year:
Crayons (16- or 24-packs)
Pencils
Pens
Markers (washable)
Scissors (blunt-tip)
Rulers
Glue Sticks
Spiral Notebooks
Copy Paper
Erasers
Backpacks
Besides these core school supplies, you can also donate other new & gently-used items which are appropriate for school-aged children and their classrooms:
Snacks (non-perishable, not expired)
Hygiene items
Clothing & Winter Wear
Binders
Office Supplies
Don’t want to wait until Thursday night? No problem. You can donate in a variety of ways:
On their website: http://operationkidequip.org/donate/
Mail or Phone-In Your Donation
You can also mail a check or money order made payable to ‘Operation: Kid Equip’ and send it to:
Michigan Friends of Education
Operation: Kid Equip
PO Box 380565
Clinton Township, MI 48038-0067
Or you may call (248) 250-8062 to make your donation over the phone.
Look, we don’t do stuff like this very often. It’s not like we go tugging at your heartstrings with Sarah McLachlan-fueled commercials or anything, and no, this isn’t “mandatory”, and we’re not going to write some sarcastic “Don’t Be That Guy Who Hates Kids” about you or anything if you can’t / don’t want to get involved.
Purely optional, totally at your discretion, but we’d certainly appreciate the hell out of whatever you can do to help these folks.
We’ll see you Thursday night!