CHICAGO — Back 2 School Illinois (B2SI), the state's largest free school supply program, in partnership with the LGBT Chamber of Commerce of Illinois, will host a build-A-kit event at the Center on Halsted on Monday, Oct. 25, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
At the event, LGBT Chamber members and volunteers will unload materials, sort supplies and then build 1,000 school supply kits, assembly-line style. They will also write Notes of Inspiration to encourage student recipients to achieve academically and help improve their self-esteem. Upon completion, the kits will be given to local non-profits who will, in turn, provide them to low-income Chicago families.
The event is part of B2SI's Build-A-Kit Program, in which companies or community groups purchase bulk school supplies from the non-profit and then assemble the kits together. Such team-building activities help corporate or community groups bond, have fun, build trust and increase collaboration as well allow them to give something back to the community.
B2SI's statewide initiative provides essential supplies and resources to thousands of underserved students, in an effort to meet the educational needs of those students. The Back 2 School program has provided 300,000 children with their own school supply kit since its inception. The organization's long-term goal is to provide the more than one million Illinois students from low-income families each year with the school supplies they need to succeed in the classroom.
To learn more about Back 2 School Illinois and its Build-A-Kit program (and how community or business groups can get involved), visit http://b2si.org/buildakit.
Corporate sponsors for this event are Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, BP, CNA, Comcast, Fifth Third Bank, Horizon Therapeutics, KPMG, Slalom and Starbucks.
