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Tom Fennesy/Mike Harden Back-to-school Project
Supplying equality to central Ohio children.
From Our PresidenT
We are excited about another year of providing backpacks filled with school supplies to students throughout Central Ohio. And, what a year we hope it will be because in addition to the backpacks, we are also planning to enhance our services to include teachers as well.
For 2018, our goal is to offer backpacks to 10,100 students, but we want to also present school supplies to teachers in an effort to decrease the amount of money they so often give out of their own pockets to insure the success of their students. Last year, we provided school supplies to teachers at Cedarwood Elementry, Buckeye Middle School, and Northland High School, but this year we want to make it more of a coordinated effort just like our backpacks. With your help, we know we can make it happen.
Easing the financial burden on students from low-income families by offering free backpacks with school supplies to students, grades K – 12, is our mission and is the legacy of our organization’s namesakes, Tom Fennessy and Mike Harden. Both made an effort as columnists for The Columbus Dispatch to support those who needed a bit of a helping hand. Thus, we want to continue to do good by them and to insure that students and teachers have the necessary supplies for a successful school year.
So please consider joining us in our efforts by clicking on the donation button, by volunteering when we fill the backpacks on Sat., Aug. 4, or by becoming a corporate sponsor. No donation is too small, or too big – and we are proud that our administrative costs are less than one percent of our total $85,000 budget. This means nearly 100 percent of your donation goes directly toward the costs of purchasing backpacks and school supplies for students in Franklin, Fairfield, Fayette, Knox, Madison, and Pickaway counties.
The Tom Fennessy/Mike Harden Back-to-School Project is all about “Backpacks for Students” and now “Supplies in the Classroom”, and we invite you to be a part of our efforts.
Sincerely,
Terri S. Leist
PRESIDENT
For 2018, our goal is to offer backpacks to 10,100 students, but we want to also present school supplies to teachers in an effort to decrease the amount of money they so often give out of their own pockets to insure the success of their students. Last year, we provided school supplies to teachers at Cedarwood Elementry, Buckeye Middle School, and Northland High School, but this year we want to make it more of a coordinated effort just like our backpacks. With your help, we know we can make it happen.
Easing the financial burden on students from low-income families by offering free backpacks with school supplies to students, grades K – 12, is our mission and is the legacy of our organization’s namesakes, Tom Fennessy and Mike Harden. Both made an effort as columnists for The Columbus Dispatch to support those who needed a bit of a helping hand. Thus, we want to continue to do good by them and to insure that students and teachers have the necessary supplies for a successful school year.
So please consider joining us in our efforts by clicking on the donation button, by volunteering when we fill the backpacks on Sat., Aug. 4, or by becoming a corporate sponsor. No donation is too small, or too big – and we are proud that our administrative costs are less than one percent of our total $85,000 budget. This means nearly 100 percent of your donation goes directly toward the costs of purchasing backpacks and school supplies for students in Franklin, Fairfield, Fayette, Knox, Madison, and Pickaway counties.
The Tom Fennessy/Mike Harden Back-to-School Project is all about “Backpacks for Students” and now “Supplies in the Classroom”, and we invite you to be a part of our efforts.
Sincerely,
Terri S. Leist
PRESIDENT
PURPOSE
The Tom Fennessy/Mike Harden Back-to-School Project (TF/MH BTSP) was initially created to insure kids living in homeless shelters had school supplies. It was named in recognition of two Columbus Dispatch columnists who knew firsthand what it means to struggle. At its inception in 1998, the organization was able to donate over 365 backpacks filled with necessary supplies. In 2017, the project filled 9,300 backpacks with basic supplies for students from low-income families, grades K – 12, without regard to race, religion, or gender. This was achieved in conjunction with 50 social service agencies, churches and schools who help disseminate the backpacks to those most in need throughout Central Ohio, through the generosity of numerous loyal contributors, and because the organization remains solely comprised of volunteers meaning the administrative costs are less than one percent of the total budget. Thus, over the past 20 years, the TF/MH BTSP has distributed over 140,000 backpacks to students who otherwise might not have been able to start off their school year with the necessary materials they needed.
The Tom Fennessy/Mike Harden Back-to-School Project (TF/MH BTSP) was initially created to insure kids living in homeless shelters had school supplies. It was named in recognition of two Columbus Dispatch columnists who knew firsthand what it means to struggle. At its inception in 1998, the organization was able to donate over 365 backpacks filled with necessary supplies. In 2017, the project filled 9,300 backpacks with basic supplies for students from low-income families, grades K – 12, without regard to race, religion, or gender. This was achieved in conjunction with 50 social service agencies, churches and schools who help disseminate the backpacks to those most in need throughout Central Ohio, through the generosity of numerous loyal contributors, and because the organization remains solely comprised of volunteers meaning the administrative costs are less than one percent of the total budget. Thus, over the past 20 years, the TF/MH BTSP has distributed over 140,000 backpacks to students who otherwise might not have been able to start off their school year with the necessary materials they needed.
