The employees of Abilene Teachers FCU are partnering with Abilene ISD’s Homeless Student Ministry to help provide school supplies. Although this is their fourth year doing a school supply drive, it is their first year gathering supplies for this particular group. In previous years ATFCU has donated supplies to different elementary schools in town.
According to Darrin Cox, AISD’s homeless liaison, there were 1,495 kids ages 3–19 years old during the 2017–2018 school year that were classified as being homeless and 1,395 for the 2018-2019 school year. There are about 16,500 students in AISD, so roughly 9% of the student population qualified as being homeless or displaced. He also said that about 72% of the total AISD student body could receive free or reduced lunches. Cox distributed about 800 backpacks full of school supplies last school year alone.
Cox asked ATFCU for specific items where his supplies are low, including wide-ruled spiral notebooks, wide-ruled composition notebooks, wide-ruled filler paper, plastic pocket folders with brads, and pens and highlighters. ATFCU will deliver the collected supplies to the Homeless Student Ministry on Aug. 8, and other local volunteer groups will be filling the backpacks.
The credit union reports that staff are very excited and humbled to help these students who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate shelter at night to live in. It's great, they said, to be a part of such an amazing community that works together to help those who need it.
Sign up to the receive the weekly Leaguer email. Existing subscribers can manage their subscription.
Have a story you'd like to see in the Leaguer? Be sure to share it with us.
Now available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.