CSU’s School is Cool program once again has made sure that Poudre School District school children have the supplies they need for the upcoming school year.
School is Cool, now in its 26th year, this week stuffed and delivered 2,508 backpacks to schools throughout Poudre School District – exactly the number requested by elementary, middle and high schools. School is Cool has now provided more than 43,000 backpacks filled with grade-specific supplies since its inception in 1992.
School is Cool partners each year with other community organizations to make sure every PSD student who needs a backpack is served. The program – Supply Our Students – provides more than 8,000 total backpacks annually.
All-volunteer effort
More than 200 volunteers from across campus and the community combined efforts over three days to make School is Cool 2017 another rousing success. Many of the participants have been volunteering for several years.
“For those of us Senior Scholars – CSU retirees – School Is Cool ‘rounds out the cycle,’” said Celia Walker, who retired in 2005 after serving as director of regulatory compliance in the Office of Research Integrity. “We’ve been involved with college students and this is our opportunity to help young kids get a good early start. It is kind of like priming the pump for college.”
Daniela Pineda Soraca, a senior who served as president of Associated Students at Colorado State University last year, took time out from her internship with the City of Fort Collins to work her first School is Cool shift. Soraca received School is Cool backpacks while a PSD student and was happy to have the opportunity to give back to the organization.
Community and corporate support
Thanks to the generosity of CSU employees and partnerships with Bohemian Foundation, the CSU Bookstore, Costco, along with numerous individual donors, School is Cool provided all supplies requested by schools, including scientific calculators for all middle schoolers.
A donation of $25 covers the cost of one backpack and supplies; it’s easy to donate online.
