Do you remember cleaning erasers in school?

When I wrote about watching two girls pass a pencil back and forth in one of my early classroom visits, some of you asked if you could help. Could you clean out your drawers and send pencils to these kiddos? Pencils that are overflowing in your drawers (on deck for a crossword puzzle that maybe I will get to do with you!), but not in the hands of these beautiful children, even for their schooling.

Yes, you can help. But don't send your pencils - it will cost a ton, and the mail service is only one of many services that is invisible or non-existent or unreliable. (I have no idea which one...I have seen zero evidence of mail or mail delivery, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist in some fashion.)

If you would like to help (and I hope you will!!), send me money. I will make a lump-sum gift to our organization to be used for school supplies. I worked this out with our CFO, who recommends this method to avoid significant transaction fees with small deposits.

We have a very clear list of items to provide schools, but not enough money to fulfill the list. The government is supposed to pay for the schools we manage for them. They don't. So we fundraise to generate funds for all school supplies, curriculum, assessments and for stipends for half of the teachers in each school.

A box of chalk is $1.50, as is a box of pencils. A full complement of supplies for 1 school for a year is $250. We get 3 quotes from different providers to ensure we are getting the lowest price goods. Here is the total supply list:

But even better, here are some of the beautiful children who will benefit from getting pencils, paper, rulers, and soap in their schools:

My Venmo is @Sarah-Glover-30. Please write "Liberia" or "school supplies" as the reason so I can track easily. I'm giving $250 to outfit 1 school completely. Will you join me?

xoxo