Susan Golay

EFGS 5260
Community Action Plan
12/09

Introduction:

I became aware of KidSmart after a discussion in one of my graduate education courses.

Two of the teachers in the class from a St Louis city school made a comment about not
having any paper in their classrooms. They shared how much need there was for the most
basic supplies in the Saint Louis city schools. My children are enrolled in an independent
school in West County, Missouri. Every year there is a surplus of books and supplies that
are often thrown away because no one in the school knows who to give them to. This
year in particular our school converted from textbooks to e-books. The school bookstore
filled dumpsters with textbooks that publishers would not buy back.

I went home after class that night and started researching on line possible ways to close
the gap between the West county independent schools surplus and the Saint Louis city
schools needs. I discovered that Saint Louis already had a non-profit organization called
KidSmart with this exact mission. I was very excited. I soon discovered that no one I
spoke to in West County had ever heard of KidSmart. Perhaps this was a good sampling
of the over all lack of awareness of KidSmart and the need in Saint Louis city schools. I
reasoned that if no one I knew had heard of KidSmart than perhaps publicity and
education was the key in helping to closing this gap.

My Action Plan was developed from this experience. The goal of my plan is to make
KidSmart a household name in West County among independent schools. When there are
surplus supplies in a school from converting textbooks to e-books or spring teacher clean
outs, KidSmart will come to mind automatically as the place to take that surplus. To do
this I would need to advertise KidSmart extensively in West County as a whole and with
in the independent schools.

I visited KidSmart and discussed my idea with the staff. They were very helpful and
encouraging. With only four staff members to run all the operations of the organization,
any support they can get is greatly appreciated. This encouraged me even more to follow
up on this plan and make this goal a reality.

Organizational Profile:

KidSmart
Tools for Learning
12175 Bridgeton Square Dr
Bridgeton, MO 63044
Phone: (314) 291-6211
http://www.kidsmartstl.org/

“MISSION is to ensure that children and their classrooms in the Greater Metropolitan
Saint Louis Area have the basic tools for learning by transferring, at no cost, the
community's surplus supplies and merchandise into the hands of teachers for school
children in need.”

History

“KidSmart - Tools for Learning” opened in 2002 as the first free educational supply store
in Missouri. KidSmart is one of 35 grassroots organizations in the country. The KidSmart
mission is to ensure that children and their classrooms in the Greater Metropolitan St.
Louis Area have the basic tools for learning by transferring, at no cost, the community's
surplus supplies and merchandise into the hands of teachers for school children in need.

The KidSmart free store is a community supported resource which transforms surplus and
new product from corporations and individuals, into educational tools for Pre-K through
12th grade children who are at the greatest risk of failing in our schools. KidSmart's
target population is the over 84,000 local children who live in poverty. The KidSmart
Free Store is located in a 10,000 square foot office building in Bridgeton, Missouri where
teachers have the chance to shop for free school supplies and educational materials for
their students in need.

During its first year of operation KidSmart served 5,000 children from 14 eligible
schools, through the Free Store. Approaching its six-year anniversary, KidSmart is
currently serving more than 40,000 children from 80 of the 177 eligible schools, and has
distributed nearly $8 million worth of school supplies and educational resources to
children in need. Teachers from eligible public and non-public schools "shop" for free
each month of the school year, August-May, for supplies their students desperately need.
These supplies include: paper, pencils, markers, glue and other educational materials to
enrich and inspire learning.

How are eligible schools chosen?

Schools where 70% or more of the students on the Free/Reduced Lunch Program, a
national poverty index, are invited to participate in our monthly shopping program,
however, we do offer alternative shopping programs for those schools that do not meet
that criteria.

Who is eligible to shop at KidSmart?

To be eligible to shop, teachers must be a full-time, certified teacher with his or her own
classroom, at one of our eligible schools. Personnel not eligible to shop include:
Instructional Assistants, Interns, Student Teachers, Tutors, In School Suspension
Teachers, Visiting Teachers, Counselors, Custodians, and Office and Cafeteria staff.
Currently KidSmart serves more than 70 eligible schools in 12 districts throughout the St.
Louis area

Can a teacher who is not eligible still shop at KidSmart?

Yes. A certified teacher with his/her own class in one of our current Volunteer to Shop
schools may earn a shopping trip at KidSmart if he or she volunteers at the store for three
hours after completing a volunteer orientation. Due to the limited product available, this
program is only available to schools on our current "Volunteer to Shop" list.
What items are most needed?
Students always need basic school supplies such as:
• pencils
• pens
• markers
• crayons
• glue
• scissors
• notebook filler paper

Students and teachers are very creative and use products that you might never imagine in
a classroom.

What are the shopping hours for teachers?

Shopping hours are Monday–Thursday from 3 – 6 p.m., August through May. Eligible
school teachers are permitted to shop once a month. Teachers and principals are notified
of the schedule.

KidSmart Volunteers:
The KidSmart Free Store is run entirely with volunteer help from dedicated community
members just like you.

• Sort donations
• Stock shelves
• Assist shoppers with check-in and check-out
• Plan special events
• Help with fundraising
• Help with "Push for Pencils"
• Work on mailing projects
• Host Taste & Tours
• Help in a variety of ways
 Organization comparison;

Office of Partnerships
Chicago Public Schools, Central Office
125 South Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60603

Email: info@helpcps.org
Phone: (773) 553-1540
Fax: (773) 553-1541
http://cpspartnerships.org/

“This organization seems to be an outgrowth of the school system itself, partnering with
organizations to support its’ mission. The CPS staff may be paid by school budget funds.
KidSmarts staff are funded by donations. CPS has 8 paid staff and KidSmart has 4. CPS
seems to have a much more highly developed website, partnership relationship and
donation opportunities probably because of the larger staff. I also could not find any
information on the website about when the program was started or how it is advertised.”

Our programs include School Partnerships, Principal for a Day, Teacher for a Day,
Free Things for CPS, CPSalumni.org, the CPS Family Tree and Alumni for Public
Schools.

Goals

Partnerships overall goal is to make it easier for community members to help CPS

• Garner resources and facilitate partnerships with companies, civic organizations

and other groups to enhance the quality of education at CPS
• Accept and solicit donations of things useful to CPS schools and departments
• Coordinate annual Principal for a Day and Teacher for a Day events to
strengthen existing partnerships and generate new ones
• Expand outreach to and engagement of CPS alumni, principally through
CPSalumni.org
• Facilitate connections with other individuals who can help CPS as donors,
volunteers and as relatives of CPS school namesakes

Recent Accomplishments

• Successful participation of over 1,600 professionals in annual Principal for a

Day event
• Placement of donated items in over 300 schools
 • Launching of alumni website, which attracted over 3,000 registrants in the first
month
• Identification of over 200 living relatives for whom the schools are named
through the CPS Family Tree Program.
• Active participation of over 30 college and university alumni groups as partners
to CPS schools through collaboration with Alumni for Public Schools

Donations made via Network for Good come to the Chicago Public Schools’ Department
of External Partnerships and processed through the Children First Fund (CPS’ 501c3
organization). Your donation is 100% tax deductible.

DonorsChoose.org
347 West 36th Street
Suite 503
New York, NY 10018
Phone 212-239-3615
Fax 212-239-3619
national@donorschoose.org
http://www.donorschoose.org/

“Donors choose only accepts cash donations to fund teacher requests. It is a rapidly
growing organization. Their website is also more developed. ”

• Charles Best, then a social studies teacher, sensed that many people would like
to help distressed public schools, but were frustrated by a lack of influence over
their donations. He created DonorsChoose.org so that individuals could connect
directly with classrooms in need.
• You choose a project that moves you, and then hear back from the classroom
with photos and updates. We validate the project request and purchase the
resources for the teacher, so integrity is guaranteed.
• Founded in 2000 by a social studies teacher in the Bronx
• Open to every public school in the U.S.

I Love Schools, Inc.

2110 Hancock St., Ste. 202
San Diego, CA 92110
619-814-5252
http://www.iloveschools.com/

“I Love Schools seems to be another organization matching donors with classroom needs
nation wide. They seem to have specific corporations they have partnered with as major
supporters and a well developed website.”
 • We match America's school teachers with individual, group and corporate donors
of new, used or in-kind classroom resources. Donors select the classrooms
receiving their donation as well as tell us how much we can use to cover our
administrative costs.
• Our mission is to raise awareness of classroom resource inequities facing
America's schools and teachers, to provide the resources and to promote the love
of learning to all of America's students, without regard to social, economic or
demographic circumstances.
• Since 2003, iLoveSchools.com has been connecting educators with the resources
they sorely need.

“After reviewing some of the other school donation sites I would make the following
recommendation to KidSmart, hire a web designer to improve their website. The other
sires are more user friendly, have media ready materials and easy formats for donors to
make contributions. This could greatly streamline the organizations efficiency.”

Outline for developing a community action plan:

1) Convene a planning group ( individuals, groups, partners, those impacted)

2) Define the visions of the group ( how they want things to be)
a) choose three statements ( are they concise, positive, acceptable, clear, expressing
the groups vision)
b) condense the three statements into one clear statement
3) Develop a mission statement that includes what is to be done and why ( is it clear,
concise, outcome oriented, robust, inclusive
4) State the objectives (measurable results, specific, achievable, relevant, timed,
dynamic)
a) benchmarks to access where you are and what progress has been made
5) Develop strategies ( how will things be accomplished)
a) who or what will be targeted
b) how will they be benefited
c) who can contribute
d) what approaches can be used
e) how will services and support be delivered
 f) how will performance be measured and reviewed
6) Develop the action plan
a) identify system changes desired
b) identify barriers, accessibility, appropriateness
c) develop timeline
7) Identify action steps for each system change and their feasibility (who is going to do
what by when)
a) specific outcome,
b) resources needed,
c) communication network,
d) completeness,
e) organizational structure,
8) Implement action plan ( choose the order by considering priorities, order of difficulty,
timeliness of steps, steps that build on each other
9) Review actions plan and steps for effectiveness and efficiency

Resources:
Power point presentation by Community Tool Box
http://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablecontents/documents/8.1_000.ppt
(The Community Tool Box, the University of Kansas, 2009,)
http://ctb.ku.edu/en/dothework/tools_tk_content_page_193.htm

Outline for developing MY action plan:

1) Convene a planning group;

a) This consists of myself, KidSmart representative, and project expectations

2) Define the visions of the group;

a) To get surplus school supplies from West County private schools to KidSmart for
Saint Louis Public Schools.
b) To inform residents, businesses and independent schools in West County about
KidSmart
 c) To establish a sustainable network in West county that will collect surplus school
supplies and resources for KidSmart
d) Make KidSmart a household word in West county

3) Develop a mission statement that includes what is to be done and why;

a) To increase awareness of KidSmart and support its mission in West county

4) State the objectives;

a) Write press releases for the media with a cover letter and introduction
b) Communicate with independent schools in west county through phone calls,
letters, posters, flyers
c) Develop presentation to give to school, parent and community groups
d) Develop partnership with organization to pick up and deliver supplies from
schools to KidSmart
e) Design posters for publicity

5) Develop strategies;
a) Research press releases for charitable organizations and children’s organizations
b) Compile contact lists for schools in West county and radio, television stations,
news papers in and around Saint Louis
c) Develop and distribute press releases
d) Develop power point presentation to present to school groups
e) Distribute posters and flyers to schools and parent organizations about Spring
cleanout donations
f) Write proposal for scout groups to do fall school supply drive

6) Develop the action plan;

a) Advertise KidSmart In West County, especially private schools who have surplus
school supplies
b) Informational media blitz
c) Partner with an organization to collect supplies ( scouts)
7) Identify action steps for each system change and their feasibility
a) There are numerous radio, television and newspaper sources in the West county
and Saint Louis area.
i) Create contact lists and prioritize them according to the largest coverage of
West county
• http://www.yellowpages.com/Saint-Louis-MO/Television-Stations-
Broadcast-Companies?from=qpiCityState St Louis TV stations
• http://www.ontheradio.net/metro/Saint_Louis_MO.aspx St Louis radio
stations
• http://www.saintlouis.com/ypcyellow.html?activeSort=TOP_PICKS|
ASC&city=Saint+Louis&offset=51&searchType=EXACT_CATEGORY
&state=MO&what=Newspapers St Louis newspapers
• http://newslink.org/monews.html St Louis newspapers
ii) Write press release with cover letter and introduction
 http://docs.google.com/Doc?
docid=0AQeinJQLUF03ZGdwc3h2MmRfMjFkM2o1dGRjeA&hl=en
(Google docs press release)
• http://www.knightcommunications.org/workshop/index Writing a press
release
• http://www.publicityinsider.com/release.asp Sample press release
iii) Distribute press release
iv) Follow up on press release with a phone call to key media

b) There are many independent schools in West county

i) Create contact list with school, contact person name, email and phone number
• http://www.privateschoolreview.com/county_private_schools/stateid/
MO/county/29189 List of independent schools in St Louis
ii) Develop flyers and distribute
  http://docs.google.com/Doc?
docid=0AQeinJQLUF03ZGdwc3h2MmRfMThoZjNndHdmcA&hl=en
(Google Docs e-flyer)
iii) Follow up with phone calls and emails
iv) Develop power point presentation to give to teacher groups and parents
groups
 http://docs.google.com/present/edit?
id=0AQeinJQLUF03ZGdwc3h2MmRfMHdycjh2ejQ1&hl=en
(Google Docs e-power point)
v) Develop posters for teacher lounges and distribute them
vi) Contact Boy scout and Girl scout council headquarters in Saint Louis and
solicit support, give presentation about KidSmart
• http://www.girlscoutsem.org/content/114/contact-us.aspx Girl scouts
• http://www.stlbsa.org/Common/Home.htm Boy scouts

8) Implement action plan;

• I will call and develop four contacts each weekday starting in January, starting
with scout organizations and schools, Television, radio then newspapers

9) Review action plan and steps for effectiveness and efficiency

* KidSmart location
http://www.mapquest.com/mq/4-WBXm7FvwFwtX