The team at FASTSIGNS® of Grand Rapids, MI recently joined efforts with School Supply Santa to provide school supplies to children who need them most.
The team at FASTSIGNS® of Grand Rapids, MI recently joined efforts with School Supply Santa to provide school supplies to children who need them most. The founder of School Supply Santa, Denise Kooiker, attends church with the Gilpin family and the Gilpins also have children in one of the school systems that are served by the organization.
School Supply Santa started in 2007 and the founder of School Supply Santa, Denise Kooiker, had a determined purpose and passion to help children in the local West Michigan communities. School Supply Santa passionately lives out its mission of “investing in students to bring joy and empower success through the gift of school supplies.”
The team at FASTSIGNS® of Grand Rapids, MI has collected school supplies, provided a location for others in the area to drop off supplies and donated signage to draw attention to other drop off locations. They have also advertised the school supply drive on social media and to walk-in customers. In addition, the Gilpin family volunteers many personal hours to help sort, organize and hand out the donations to the schools that need them. And in 2018, a generous monetary donation was made to the organization.
Reaching out to friends, family, customers and partners for donations to help contribute, the team at FASTSIGNS® of Grand Rapids, MI has witnessed a successful campaign for School Supply Santa. The team has helped spread awareness and increased the amount of school supplies donated with the Gilpins stepping up in a big way to be team leaders during the sorting and distribution process. Their planning and guidance ensure a smooth process and both the volunteers and recipients were really pleased with the overall success of the drive.
“Our team is excited to work with this organization,” said Michael Gilpin. “We know that not all parents can afford to purchase all of the items on the ‘back to school’ lists, but these items are essential to students’ success… and even their confidence. It is awesome to help lessen this burden a little and allow students and parents to focus on meeting other needs.”