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United Way Blog

Pitney Bowes Volunteers Equip Kids with Supplies to Succeed

Students experience all sorts of challenges at school, but having enough school supplies shouldn’t be one of them. The right supplies are the tools children need to succeed in school.

If they don’t have the supplies they need, students can feel unprepared and left out, maybe even ashamed. With a backpack full of everything they need, their confidence improves and they can focus on their lessons and participate fully in the learning experience.

Because United Way and our volunteers fight for the education of every person in every community, in August we joined forces with eight Pitney Bowes Presort facilities to ensure that students in their communities were equipped with the right supplies for a strong start to the new school year. Nearly 600 employees volunteered over 300 hours to assemble more than 1,000 blue drawstring bags, filled with calculators, notebooks, crayons, highlighters, folders and more.

Several Pitney Bowes employees noted that one of their favorite parts of the project was writing and including notes of encouragement in the bags. This personal touch helped volunteers feel more connected to the students, as did delivering the supplies to them in person.

The results were immediate. One participant said, “The backpacks and supplies will assist children and teens struggling with family, behavioral and mental health issues. Many of the families are unable to provide the supplies necessary for their children to begin school ready to learn, so the donated supplies, particularly the packs from Pitney Bowes, will be a tremendous help to those struggling families. The children receiving the backpacks have been very enthusiastic about them.”

The employees at Pitney Bowes did more than merely pack bags of school supplies. They helped pave a road to success for 1,000 children needing all the support they can get. Contact your local United Way to learn how you can do the same.