2020 Fundraising Drive
The one-five Foundation's focus for 2020 is to raise funds for two important programs: Blessings in a Backpack and flexible seating in school libraries.
Blessings in a Backpack
More than 2,400 elementary students in District 15 rely on free breakfasts and lunches at school through the Federal Free & Reduced Price Meal program. These meals are often the only reliable source of nutrition students have during the week.
Who will feed the children on the weekend?
Through Blessings in a Backpack, students are sent home with a bag of healthy food at the end of the week to help provide nutritional meals when school is not in session. This program is currently in place in several of our schools, serving about 700 students district-wide. There are 1,700 additional children who would benefit from this program, but we do not have enough funding to support it. For every $140 raised, one child will be fed over the weekend for an entire school year.
Flexible seating in school libraries
If you step into one of District 15's school libraries, they don’t look very different than they did 20 or 30 years ago. Heavy square tables, rows of bookshelves and large wooden chairs are what furnish most of District 15’s library spaces.
In the year 2020, libraries are not just used for reading anymore. Libraries or Learning Resource Centers (LRC) are the learning hubs of our schools, utilized for everything from STEM activities, to club gatherings to guest speakers.
The furniture in these spaces makes it hard to pivot and change activities easily. The heavy tables, chairs and bookshelves are difficult to move around, and not intended for creative, collaborative activities taking place in school libraries today.
The one-five Foundation wants to change that.
The Foundation has a goal to raise nearly $200,000 to outfit all of District 15’s school libraries with flexible seating, so these spaces can be used more effectively, resulting in improved outcomes for District 15’s students.
