Have an Extra Pencil or Two?

The mission of Operation: Kid Equip, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit program, is to serve the educational needs of children by providing free school supply kits to students from low-income and poor families in Southeastern Michigan.

Like everyone else in our area, Operation: Kid Equip is realizing the negative impact of downsizing and office closures. While it saddens us, we have come up with a way to turn these shaky economies into opportunities to meet the educational needs of more children.

We are seeking donations of office supplies from businesses, offices and organizations. Many companies have excess inventory through either rebranding of materials, office closures or consolidations.  (And still in some companies, the office supply purchaser doesn't know the different between a unit and a case and suddenly you are tripping over 144 cases of pencils in the supply room.  )

We are clearly seeing a significant rise in requests for assistance in direct correlation to the increased number of business downsizing and closures in our area. Operation: Kid Equip would like to be able to help as many school children as possible, as well as their families, who are being impacted by our rapidly changing economic climate. While the stories about business closings are heart-wrenching, some good can come out of these unfortunate circumstances.

We are accepting all donations of unused office or school supplies via the mail or at one of our local drop off locations. We can coordinate a special pickup as well.

Times are truly tough here in Michigan. More families are strapped for cash and turn their focus on the very basic of expenses. That means they can't even afford pencils and paper for their children. Studies have shown that students who do not have adequate supplies tend to be academic underperformers. Too many students are showing up to class without the essential supplies they need. Add in the increased demand for our services, and we feel it is is imperative that Operation: Kid Equip step up our efforts to meet the escalating levels of demand.

In addition to donated supplies, we would also like to discuss and secure classroom distribution sponsorships from businesses that might be doing a bit better than others, but that is not the point of this post.

Operation: Kid Equip will accept any donated office supplies...any and all materials offered will be immediately put to good use throughout Southeastern Michigan. We do have a specific "wish list" of basic supplies that includes lined paper, art papers, pens, pencils, various markers, rulers, paperclips, staplers and staples, tape and glue sticks.  Click here to find our comprehensive school supply list.

For more information, please contact Menachem Kniespeck or Mike McFall at (800) 948-3169 or visit the Operation: Kid Equip website.