SoWashCo CARES

Have you heard about SoWashCo Cares? This is an amazing program right here in our community that is striving to meet various needs for children, teens and families in District 833. SoWashCo CARES was started a few years ago by Cheryl Jogger after her family participated in a Feed My Starving Children event hosted by the city of Woodbury. She started with posting specific requests that had been passed on to her from school social workers in our district for members of the community to help fill. The CARES stands for Community Action Reaching Every Student.

Two years ago, SoWashCo CARES started a food collection and packing event to provide students who are food insecure with food over Winter Break. The response the first year was amazing. They were able to pack enough food boxes for 200 students! Since that first packing event, SoWashCo CARES has hosted 3 more food packing events to provide food boxes for summer and winter breaks. On November 14th at Oltman Middle School from 6-8pm, they will be hosting their 5th packing event. They are hoping to pack food boxes for 300 students!

By now you may be wondering, "What can I do to help?" That's the great thing about SoWashCo CARES. It is a very accessible program. You can follow SoWashCo CARES on Facebook and Twitter to help fill requests that come from the district's school social workers throughout the year. For families with young children, helping fill these requests is a great way to start introducing your child to service to others, generosity and kindness. Families can also register for the packing event at SoWashCo CARES Winter Pack Event. You can help by dropping off donations of Easy Mac n' Cheese cups and other easily microwavable items at the District Program Center, Central Park in the ECFE suite and the District Service Center.

SoWashCo CARES is also looking for winter clothing for students and families who are in need. Families can check out Winter Clothing Needs to sign up to provide winter gear. New requests are added to the spreadsheet daily and donations will be accepted until all requests are filled. Donors can label their items with the child's number and deliver directly to the social worker at the specific school.