Did you know 1 out of 5 children live below poverty in Palm Beach County? THAT’S 40,000 KIDS who are going to go back to school in two weeks and they don’t have pencils, pens, paper, backpacks and glue sticks and all the things that every other kid does. 

You can text BACKPACKSPBC to 41444. This is their mobile cause platform and you can make a donation to support the children who are in need of school supplies.

 
Why is 3rd grade reading so important? The state of Texas determines how many prisons they’re going to build based on 3rd grade reading scores. In 2009, Northeastern University did a study and a child reading below grade level  at 3rd grade, is 4x more likely to drop out of school.  If they’re in poverty, it’s 6x. A child who drops out of school is 69x more likely to be incarcerated  than a child who finishes. 

In 2015-2016, the Education Foundation of Palm Beach launched Red Apple Supplies to ensure that our teachers would no longer have to spend their own resources to provide school supplies for their students.  Beginning with our highest-need schools, Red Apple Supplies is steadily expanding so that one day soon no teacher in Palm Beach County will ever again have to dip into their own resources to buy the supplies their students need in order to learn, grow and develop. 

To me, education is one of the most important things in life. Education creates the opportunity for kids to expand their lives beyond their circumstances. 

I would like to introduce you to my good friend, James Gavrilos. He accepted the position of President/C.E.O. of the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County in 2017, bringing nearly 25 years of non-profit experience to his new role.  Since 1984, the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County has connected the business and philanthropic sector to the world of public education. Today, innovative programs funded by the Education Foundation and our Champions of Education are impacting the lives of over 122,000 students here in the School District of Palm Beach County.

Here’s where you come in: all over Palm Beach County, people are donating school supplies and making contributions. In fact, businesses are adopting schools. WE NEED YOU TO JOIN US! Red Apple supplies was started 5 years ago serving 8 schools. This year they’ve served 63 schools and they’ve distributed over $1,000,000 in school supplies to local teachers to get to their kids. This year they are determined to do $1,500,000.   

You can text BACKPACKSPBC to 41444. This is their mobile cause platform and you can make a donation to support the children who are in need of school supplies.

We will also be doing a supply drive at our Keller Williams Boca Raton Office: 7280 W Palmetto Park Rd #110, Boca Raton, FL 33433 or you can drop off supplies at 7070 Garden Road in Riviera Beach -- Red Apple supplies is behind Riviera Prep on the Riviera Prep Campus, or you can come to their main office which is at 505 South Congress Avenue, Boynton Beach. It’s the building that houses the education network. Shoot James Gavrilos an email james@educationfoundationpbc.org. Let him know when you’re coming, and he’ll come to the front door, give you a grand tour and accept whatever school supplies you have as well as if your company is interested in making a difference and sponsoring a school. 

 Just remember something, 40,000 kids are going back to school in two weeks and they don’t have paper, folders, and pencils. How do we expect that child to learn and to get out of poverty if they don’t have the basic tools they need for education?

Big hug,
Barbara