Mission 500 and COPS Monitoring Team Up to Provide School Supplies
Mission 500 recently teamed up with COPS Monitoring of Boca Raton, Florida to assemble and donate school supply kits to students at a nearby Title 1 elementary school in Boynton Beach. Thanks to the generosity of both organizations and their donors, and with support from World Vision, a worldwide humanitarian organization, there were enough kits to provide one to every student in the school – more than 700 in all.
“We have a strong company culture that stresses the importance of ‘people helping people,’” said David Smith, Director of Marketing and Communications for COPS Monitoring. “We were particularly grateful to be able to provide support to local children directly, and to be lucky enough to be able to meet them in person as we handed out the kits.”
The kits were assembled by a group of COPS Monitoring employees, including some who came in on their days off to participate. The company also opened their doors to anyone from the neighborhood who wished to join the effort, making the activity a true community-building event.
Each kit was provided in a new colorful backpack, and held a broad assortment of age-appropriate school essentials, including notebooks, scissors, crayons, pens and pencils, and much more. Two additional items added extra value to these families, too. Each kit included a handwritten note of encouragement to the student from one of the volunteers, as well as from COPS Monitoring to alert parents that the company was looking to hire qualified local residents for dispatcher positions in the nearby central station monitoring operation.
“Mission 500 is grateful for the chance to help facilitate this event,” said George Fletcher, Advisory Board Member, Mission 500. “It was clearly a success from all angles – from the generous support of the sponsors, the contributions of the volunteers, and the community involvement – we can feel good about every part of the effort. But most of all, knowing that we are helping give children a chance to do their best, and seeing the looks on their faces – that’s what it’s all about.”
The Kit Build and distribution of kits was reported on by ABC WPBF News.