MERCY-USA MAKES THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL EASIER FOR DETROIT FAMILIES

August 31, 2018

Mercy-USA Launches, “We Care Backpack” Program and Distributes Backpacks and School Supplies for all Students K-5 at Three Detroit Public Schools.

DETROIT, MI: Mercy-USA for Aid and Development, an international humanitarian organization is showing a little love for kids going back to school this year with new backpacks filled with supplies such as crayons, pencils, markers, paper and more needed for the school day. The organization’s staff and volunteers will pack the bags over the Labor Day weekend at Mercy-USA’s headquarters and have them ready to distribute the first day of school on Tuesday at Greenfield Union Elementary-Middle School and Nichols Elementary-Middle School in Detroit. Backpacks will also be distributed at J.E. Clark Preparatory Academy on Sept. 19^th for their Back to School Fair. (Dates, times and locations of schools are listed below.)

The days when you sent a child to school with a pencil and an apple for the teacher are gone. Today, school districts with ever-shrinking budgets ask families to send their students with supplies to last the school year. This requirement can be difficult for families in Detroit, where almost 50% of students receive free and reduced lunch, a rough proxy for poverty. Kayla Botelho, Mercy-USA Development Coordinator said, “We wanted to make this time of year easier for parents and guardians who are up against the extra expenses involved with sending kids back to school.”

Because teachers also spend their own money on supplies for their classrooms, Mercy-USA is sending each teacher a gift bag of basics like copy paper, dry erase markers, and other items needed in a classroom as a thank you for their dedication to education.