248 Children, One Community Showing Up
For children in foster care a new school year can often mean a new school, a new classroom, and a lot of other changes that are outside of their control. Having the school supplies they need seems like a small thing, but it can bring a little normalcy to a season that may feel anything but normal.
This year, 248 school supply lists were given to 248 children preparing for the new school year. For the past 35 years, we have invited our community to come alongside children by sponsoring their school supply lists.
Families chose lists to sponsor and filled their carts with notebooks, pencils, crayons, folders, and everything else each child needed. Churches gathered supplies together. Businesses rallied their employees and customers. Generous donors gave financially to help make sure needs were met. For some donors, sponsoring a list has become an annual tradition. For Lance and Kim Tipton, along with grandmother Marti Lewis, giving school supplies has become a way to honor the memory of Terian, their adopted daughter who was an elementary school teacher who passed away in 2023.
For the second year, they gathered school supplies through friends and family and donated them in Terian’s honor, using the hashtag #TeachLikeTJ. They chose Coyote Hill because of their own connection to foster care. The Tipton’s adopted Terian from foster care when she was five years old.
When asked what they would want the children receiving the supplies to know, their answer was simple: “They’re loved, and they’re worthy. And to learn and read everything that they can.”
For The Premiere Group, it was a natural addition to the ways their employees serve the community throughout the year. “Personally, we just love your mission,” they shared. “As a former teacher, I know the start of school can be a scary, exciting, overwhelming time of year. It means so much knowing the binders, notebooks, pens, and highlighters we picked out for them are going directly to them. I hope that helping provide for them in this way helps to show them that people in the community are rooting for them and their success,” Megan Schaffer shares.
That desire to remind children that their community is behind them was echoed in the message they hoped to pass along to the children receiving their supplies: “Have a great school year. We are rooting for you!”
There was another special moment this year when the Mizzou football Players brought more than 160 backpacks filled with school supplies. Each backpack also included a personal letter from a Mizzou football player, giving children another reminder that someone was thinking about them and cheering them on as they headed into a new school year.
“It was incredible to watch our community come together for these 248 children. Seeing every single list covered was a wonderful reminder of what we can accomplish when we show up together. We’re so grateful for everyone who helped make this possible.”
We’re especially grateful to the individuals, businesses, churches, and organizations who provided school supplies for children across mid-Missouri this year: Lance and Kim Tipton, Allstate Consultants LLC, Big Foot Wing Dust, Bonuchi & Company LLC, Bubbas Burger Bar & Egg Emporium, Central Christian Church, Cornerstone Family Fellowship, Faith Lutheran Church, First State Community Bank of Moberly, Moberly Credit Union, Garcia Barra Jefferson City, Immanuel Baptist Church, JK Financial LLC, Light Bearers Women’s Small Group, Little Dixie Construction, Love & Legacy, Missouri Child Support Education Association (MCSEA), Salt & Light Advisors, Solid Rock Church, TS Companies, and Veterans United Home Loans.
To everyone who sponsored a list, donated supplies, gave financially, volunteered, delivered backpacks, wrote letters, or helped spread the word, thank you. Thank you for seeing the child behind the supply list. Thank you for helping make the start of a new school year a little more exciting and a little more normal. And thank you for continuing to show children impacted by foster care that they have a community behind them.