There is still time to help students in need gear up for a new school year through the Yoobi Back to School Backpack Bundle Drive. CO-OP and Yoobi are partnering with credit unions nationwide to provide backpacks filled with school supplies to elementary school students in their communities – and needed items to schools across the U.S.
The program is simple: With a $1,500 pledge, each credit union receives 50 backpacks, financial literacy kits and school supplies – which they can hand-deliver to the school or community organization of their choice. In turn, Yoobi provides an equal number of items to high-need elementary schools across the U.S. through the Kids in Need Foundation, creating both local and national impact.
Last fall, CO-OP credit unions delivered 650 backpacks to children in their communities. Help us make 2018 a record-breaking year by joining the campaign before the September 1 deadline.
Why the Short Supply?
Outfitting kids with school supplies may not seem like an urgent financial issue, but for families and schools with limited resources it can be a major obstacle. The Huntington Backpack Index recently found that the cost of supplying students with paper, pencils, backpacks and calculators is substantial:
- $637 for elementary school students.
- $941 for middle schoolers.
- $1,355 for high school students.
Moreover, almost 90 percent of teachers use their personal funds to pay for classroom supplies.
The need for financial education is equally acute. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development reports that only 3 percent of low-income students earned top scores on a financial literacy test, compared to 45 percent of students at higher-income schools. Only 18 percent of 15 year-olds at lower-income schools had bank accounts, compared to 67 percent of their high-income counterparts. By providing financial education tools to go with every Yoobi Backpack, credit unions are planting the seeds of financial literacy for kids who need it most.
Delivering the Goods
Genisys Credit Union in Auburn, Michigan, delivered 50 backpacks with supplies and financial education kits to Macomb Community Action this summer. Macomb Community Action provides services to children, families, and seniors to help increase their quality of life. The drive helped Macomb Community Action in their mission, “Persistent Action to Diminish Poverty and Promote Independence,” while also helping Genisys serve their purpose in helping their community.
“Genisys is passionate about helping students be successful.” says Genisys President/CEO Jackie Buchanan. “Our hope is that by providing school supplies we are contributing to their success.”
Eagle Community Credit Union took an innovative approach by putting together a contest whereby participants could vote for the school/class they wanted to receive 50 backpacks and an additional $250 Amazon gift card.
Over twenty credit unions are already on board for the fall 2018 Yoobi Back-to-School Backpack Bundle Drive. Thank you again to all of our incredible credit union partners that have participated in this campaign to date:
- Afena Federal Credit Union
- Black Hills Federal Credit Union
- Canvas Credit Union
- Credit Union of Georgia
- DuPage Credit Union
- Eagle Community Credit Union
- Farmers Insurances Federal Credit Union
- Firefighters First Credit Union
- Fitzsimons Credit Union
- Foothill Credit Union
- Genisys Credit Union
- Gerber Federal Credit Union
- Helena Community Credit Union
- HFS Federal Credit Union
- InFirst Federal Credit Union
- LA Financial Credit Union
- MacKay Shields LLC
- McGraw-Hill Federal Credit Union
- Meriwest Credit Union
- Nova Credit Union
- Ohio Credit Union League
- Peninsula Federal Credit Union
- Safe Harbor Credit Union
- San Mateo Credit Union
- Stanford Credit Union
- TopMark Credit Union
- VOCAL Credit Union
There’s still time to add your credit union to the list! Learn more about the Yoobi Back to School Backpack Bundle Drive. The deadline to sign up is September 1.
The original article School’s In! Join the Yoobi Backpack Bundle Drive by September 1st can be found on Insight Vault.
