MINT HILL, NC – With temperatures nearing 100 degrees, it’s hard to believe that summer is already drawing to a close! As we prepare to send students back to school this August, Servant’s Heart is once again asking for the community’s help with their annual Back2School Program.
Servant’s Heart’s comprehensive Back2School assistance program has three distinct and important components: school bookbags, client bookbags and classroom/administrative supplies.
One important component of this program are the bookbags Servant’s Heart provides to six different Mint Hill Schools. These bookbags, stocked with all the items required for students at each grade level, are taken to school counselors the week before school begins so students who show up without supplies can quickly receive them without being stigmatized.
“Our valued community partnerships are instrumental in providing these bookbags,” says Servant’s Heart’s Social Worker Rochelle Williams. “Those partnerships this year include Elevation Church, Morningstar Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia Presbyterian Church, Morningstar Lutheran Church, Team Church, Blair Road United Methodist Church, Mint Hill Women’s Club, MOMS Club of Mint Hill, Chick-fil-A Mint Hill, and Cresswind Cares.”
A second important prong of the Back2School program is client bookbags. Servant’s Heart asks the community to help serve this need by participating in their “Adopt-a-Bookbag” campaign. Willing donors pick up bookbag(s) from Servant’s Heart and fill them with school supplies (from a supplied list) for each grade level from Pre-K to college. Bookbags must be picked up by August 5 and returned filled by August 15.
If you missed the deadline for the Adopt-a-Bookbag program, you can still help Servant’s Heart with classroom and administrative supplies. Servant’s Heart partners with the Mint Hill Chamber of Commerce to collect and distribute these supplies to all nine Mint Hill schools.
The classroom/administrative supply drive will run from August 1 through September 4, and donation boxes will be placed at 15-20 different locations within the Town of Mint Hill. Donations needed include Clorox wipes, hand sanitizer, graph paper, Zip Loc bags (gallon and sandwich size), index cards, facial tissue, copy paper, Sharpie markers, Band-Aids, Post It notes, paper towels, Expo markers, colored highlighters, and colored paper.
The impact of Servant’s Heart’s Back2School program can’t be overstated. In 2021, Servant’s Heart provided 253 filled bookbags to students that attend our community schools. Since 2017, Servant’s Heart has distributed a total of $79,400.00 in supplies to boost students’ and schools’ academic success rate.
“Most adults understand and embrace that children are our future and that education has the power to break the cycle of poverty,” says Servant’s Heart Founder and Executive Director Kim Rhodarmer. “Therefore, investing in our children is positive for students and our community. Servant’s Heart has been successful with B2S efforts only because this community rallies behind us!”
The success of Servant’s Heart’s Back2School assistance program wouldn’t be possible without that support from the community. For more information on how you can help Servant’s Heart support students in our community, contact Rochelle at (704) 680-6533, Ext. 4.
