Community Corner

Downers Grove Roadrunners Donate School Supplies to Homeless D58 Students: Names in the News

Twenty homeless students received brand new backpacks at the beginning of the school year thanks to a generous donation from the youth soccer club.

Twenty homeless students in  were able to start the school year with backpacks full of new school supplies thanks to a generous donation from a local soccer club.

The Downers Grove-based Roadrunners Soccer Club—an organization of more than 30 teams for boys and girls ages 7 to 19—recently held its annual picnic to kick off the 2012 season. Although the event is meant to bring together players and families, club officials decided to do something special this year.

With the beginning of the school year just weeks away, Podjasek decided to reach out to District 58 Communications Coordinator Jennifer Waldorf to see how the organization could help students or teachers preparing to head back to class.

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Waldorf's answer took Podjasek by surprise.

"When I talked to Jennie, she started telling me about the homeless students in District 58, and their need for school supplies," Podjasek said. "We knew we could probably do some sort of school supply drive, but to hear about these students who have nothing—it was heartbreaking and shocking to think about people struggling in our community."

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According to Waldorf, District 58 has about 20 students who are currently homeless.

Using a list of supplies recommended by the district, Roadrunners parents and players purchased hundreds of items to donate at the annual picnic. By the end of the day, the organization collected 25 backpacks, 43 packages of loose-leaf paper, 58 spiral notebooks, 33 packages of pencils, 33 packages of pens, 65 boxes of crayons, 26 folders and dozens of other essentials.

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