With the school year quickly approaching, members of the Emerging Professionals Program are asking med center colleagues to consider purchasing an extra school supply or two for local children.
"One of the goals of EPP is to provide ways for our members to connect with volunteer opportunities in the community," said Jerry Stone, president of the employee resource group. "This, along with a chance to build relationships across the organization and participate in professional development activities, is the main reason that people choose to be a part of this group."
For the first time, EPP is partnering with the Nebraska Medicine Offices of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Community and Corporate Relations to collect school supplies. The drive starts today and runs through Aug. 8.
Donations from the organization-wide drive will be collected and delivered to SHARE Omaha as part of its "Banking On School Supplies" event. More than 10 organizations will benefit from the community effort, including those listed below.
"We know there are a lot of worthy organizations hosting supply drives this year, but one of the things that drew us to SHARE Omaha is the fact that multiple organizations would benefit from the drive," said Mackenzie Solt, community and patient engagement liaison. "Many of the receiving organizations are partners we support and that align with our mission."
The following new, unopened items are needed:
- Backpacks
- Calculators
- Colored pencils
- Crayons
- Folders
- Hand sanitizer
- Highlighters
- Notebooks
- Pencils (#2 or mechanical)
- Pencil boxes
- Pens
- Tissues
Supplies can be dropped off in the blue, labeled bins at the locations below. People who want to donate can choose to ship items directly to SHARE Omaha by purchasing via their Amazon wish list.
Editor's update: The Amazon wish list has been fulfilled; thank you to everyone who donated.
Bin locations:
- Bellevue Café
- Clarkson Café
- Durham Outpatient Center, Starbucks
- East Campus Corporate Pavilion, 4th floor breakroom
- Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, The Restaurant
- Lauritzen Outpatient Center, 4th floor
- Nebraska Café
- Storz Café
- Village Pointe, 111 Building
- Wigton Heritage Center, 4th floor
For questions, contact Kelsey Scroggin or Shanda Ross.