Project KINDNESS

the problem:

Project KINDNESS means Kids In Need Deserve New Elementary School Supplies. I founded this effort to help other kids that are somethimes forgotten. For four years I have collected donations to provide needy kids with school supplies. These donations were in the form of money and actual supplies. To raise awareness, I mailed flyers to local businesses, family and neighbors. The response has been amazing!! I also visit the children to read throughout the year. Project KINDNESS supplied 200 kindergartners at Memorial Elementary in Arcadia, Florida with backpacks, school boxes, crayons,scissors, glue, pencils, markers, colored pencils, lined writing paper, and construction paper. Many of the children at this school qualify for the "Free Lunch" program due to the financial needs of their families. I was made aware of this school after Hurricane Charley struck their town in 2004. After supporting this school through my own school's Program called Building Buddies, I discovered these kids needed help long before "Charley" came to town. Since 2005, I have donated school supplies to the incoming kindergarten class, read to the kindergartners, brought juice and cookies in the Spring, and delivered Holiday gifts (one year for all 960 students and last year to the 200 kindergartners). This year I also supplied several Habitat for Humanity families with 150 backpacks filled with school supplies. In addition to the school supplies, Project KINDNESS has collected and delivered hundreds of toys to All Children's Hospital in St. Pete, Florida

vital stats:

people impacted:

2,000

people involved:

0

why it's important:

n/a

the plan of action:

n/a

how you can get involved:

n/a

project updates:

Final Grant Update

01/30/2011
Stevie Peacock
The number of people involved with my organization varies each year from 25-100, depending on what specific goal I am working towards..
Since I have won the grant, my project has impacted approximately 500 additional people.
Winning the DoSomething grant was amazing because it enabled me to help more people through my project and provide students with additional supplies that I am not usually able to give. School supply lists have recently gotten highly specific, and due to the grant I was able to meet all the needs of the children.
1. This year I met a family through Habitat for Humanity that included 9 children and a single mother. I was able to provide the family with all the school supplies and backpacks they needed, including expensive items like pen drives. I could tell that the mother felt relieved and extremely grateful for my help. I loved that I could make a mother's life easier and make the lives of those children happier. 2. I also enjoyed giving providing hospitalized children with gifts around the holidays to make their holiday season a little brighter. It is always a wonderful experience to help these children, knowing how hard it must be to stay in a hospital while other children get to celebrate the holidays in their home. 3. Another highlight was reading a story to the Kindergarten class at Memorial Elementary in Arcadia and giving the children gift bags for the holidays. I love seeing the smiles on their faces when they receive their toy and look at the pictures in the storybook.
I first strated Project KINDNESS in 2005 by donating school supplies to a kindergarten impact by Hurricane Charley in Arcadia, Florida. Since then it has grown to include Jordan's Crossing (a Habitat for Humanity Neighborhood), Oak Park, Pine View School, and I also donate toys to the All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg and Sarasota Memorial Hospital. This year specifically I was able to donate new items, such as backpacks, dry erase markers, and flash cards to the students because of this grant. I have impacted my community by providing children with school supplies who would other wise go without. Additionally, I have inspired my friends to give back to the community.
12/10/2008

In August 2008, school supplies, back packs, hand sanitizer and Healthy Haabits coloring books were provided for 150 kids in the Habitat for Humanity Neighborhod in Sarasota, Florida. 140 kindergartners at Memorial Elementary school in Arcadia were provided with new school supplies and art supplies.

Stevie at Habitat.jpg

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