Students and staff at LaFollette and Fifty-Third Street elementary schools are well-prepared for the 2023-2024 school year, thanks to an influx of critical supplies from African Diaspora Council members, the UWM community and external partners.
On Oct. 27, school representatives, the leaders of UWM’s ADC, the UWM Police Department and UWM Chancellor Mark Mone gathered to transport over 100 boxes of supplies to the schools.
The African Diaspora Council has led the school supply drive for the past seven years, according to Brenda Cullin, retired UWM staff member and project liaison for the drive. Diana Borders, business services assistant director in the School of Education’s Office of Charter Schools, is chair of the ADC.
The UWM Police Department and other campus and community organizations collaborate in organizing and supporting the drive. Under the leadership of Dean Kim Litwack, the College of Health Professions and Sciences has consistently provided the largest donation of school supplies of any UWM college and embraces its mission in health and community engagement, according to Cullin.
“This year as we asked for volunteers to help sort and pack supplies, the college stepped up and provided nursing students who needed to fulfill their volunteer hours,” she added.
As in past years, the supply drive gathered school supplies, personal hygiene items and monetary donations to support the two Milwaukee Public Schools located in the 53206 ZIP code in one of the most challenging areas in the city.
“The ADC and our UWM partners are committed to supporting the students and teachers of LaFollette and Fifty-Third Street Elementary schools with tools they desperately need to ensure a successful school year,” Borders said.
“This closes a gap so we have supplies for the whole year,” said Marny Donalson-Gamble, a double UWM alumna who is principal of LaFollette school. Parents who send school supplies at the beginning of the year often can’t replenish them as the year goes on, she explained.
The drive, which received around $7,000 in school supplies and financial donations, ran through Oct. 6. Monetary contributions are still being accepted until Nov. 17 through PayPal, Zelle (414-510-1267); Cash App ($kperrywi) or UWM University Advancement (enter school supply drive under special instructions).
For more information, contact the ADC executive team at adc-info@uwm.edu.
