Target hits a bullseye for IPS kids in need

Thanks to our friends at Target, we were able to take about 100 of the kids from our shelter and community centers school shopping this week! On Tuesday night, back-to-school eve for IPS, The Salvation Army and Target teamed up to help 12,000 K-12 students across the country gear up for school with the Target School Spree. Each child, selected by The Salvation Army, was awarded an $80 Target GiftCard to purchase back-to-school supplies. The kids were paired with a Salvation Army volunteer and sent out to select school uniform items, backpacks and all the supplies they’ll need to get started.

Nearly 500 Target stores participated in the one-day Target School Spree event in select regions across the country, including four here in the metro Indy area – 38th Street, Glendale, Nora and Southport. Each $80 Target GiftCard awarded as part of the program provided a child with the necessary supplies to go back to school in the fall, ready to learn.

It was clear that the kids also appreciated the gift from Target.  When third grader Tiara was asked what she thought about the shopping spree she said, “This is pretty cool.  I got everything I needed for school.  It’s been a good day.”

Thanks to all the folks at Target nationally and right here in Indy. They provided a fun environment with snacks and even games for the kids waiting their turn to shop. We especially appreciated the enthusiasm of their associates as they helped the kids check out at the end of the shop. Talk about “doing the MOST good”!

Huntington donates 1,000 backpacks

We’ve spent the better part of the last week with a big, but rewarding task – distributing 1,000 backpacks and school supplies that Huntington Bank donated to The Salvation Army on behalf of Indianapolis Public School children across the city. The donation is part of a 30,000 backpack donation throughout Huntington’s six-state service area. And we got them all in the hands of kids at our shelter and 6 different IPS locations in time for their first day of school!

Due to Huntington’s generosity, we were able to deliver about 600 more backpacks than in 2009. Those backpacks, provided by Big Lots Inc. at a significantly reduced rate to Huntington Bank were packed along with donated school supplies. And the teachers and principals receiving the donation on behalf of their students couldn’t have been more grateful or excited to see our truck pull up!

Huntington knows how much of a financial strain school supplies can put on a family. According to Huntington’s 2010 Backpack Index, it costs parents about $474 for elementary school, $545 for middle school and $1,000 for high school students to return to the classrooms. “Providing school supplies to Indiana children in need is a large part of what the Huntington Backpack Index is all about,” said Huntington Bank Central Indiana President Mike Newbold. “We not only want to call attention to the costs to send a child back to school prepared to learn, but also help out families who are having a difficult time making ends meet.”

So, thanks to Huntington Bank and Big Lots Inc. for their partnership!

Indy homeless students up by 26%, Salvation Army offers help

Today’s Indy Star reports that IPS has seen a 26% increase in the homeless students. The article is pretty sobering – Indiana is tied for 27th in the nation for homeless enrollment – nearly 10,000 students.

Our state has certainly felt the brunt of the economic downturn. And the trend continues in 2010 as unemployment hovers in the 10 percent range. About 43 percent of homeless schoolchildren in IPS are in kindergarten through third grade! These kids have difficulties concentrating, not knowing where they’ll sleep or where dinner will come from. In fact, these students are suspended from school at a rate of about twice the state average!

But thanks to our supporters, The Salvation Army’s Women’s and Children’s Shelter* can offer these kids some stability. Kids who stay in our shelter can count on healthy meals, warm beds and even homework help from our partners at Indy School on Wheels. The shelter isn’t a permanent solution – our counselors work with moms to get help with life skills, school or job placement and all the other resources they will need to break the cycle of joblessness, domestic violence and homelessness.

You can help us continue to provide these services to our littlest neighbors in need through the Homelessness Bites campaign. Find out how to get and fill a Bite Back box, donate online, sign up for our mobile VIP list or mark your calendar now for Apple Fest this October. For 1,500 kids in Indianapolis, homelessness bites. Bite back!

*nearly 1,100 women & children have been cared for in our shelter in 2010. Of the 204 who came to us in June, 76 were kids.