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Volunteers are vital to making drives work well. They can help spread information about the drives by going door to door, making flyers, contacting politicians, and posting the information on different platforms of social media. Volunteers can also collect goods from people who want to donate from certain places or houses. Also, they can disperse the goods to different schools and students who need them.

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West Chester University has a resource pantry at the University. Through this drive, they want to minimize their students' need for basic goods and food to support their success and prepare them for life after graduation. For this drive, they collect food, school supplies, clothing, and personal care items. They also hold events where they teach about cooking, finding and preparing for a career, learning how to understand financial documents and information, trips to get clothes and food, and spreading information about other drives.

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Address: 212 S. High Street, West Chester, PA

Phone Number: 484-324-8492

Instagram: @actinfaith

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What is the ACT in Faith of Greater West Chester?

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What is the ACT in Faith of Greater West Chester?

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ACT of Faith was created in 2010 by members of a Religious Council of Greater West Chester. The organization was created in response of the growing needs of the community. They found that many of these people needed support and had no idea where resources were available. Act in Faith intent is to help connect those in need with support services so that students feel they are being provided with all the right resources.

Act in Faith has programs such as housing stabilization, basic needs, and employment support that help with different services in the area such as client emergency fund and community cupboard. The organization goal is to provide relief because there will always be people struggling and who need help getting back up on their feet. With help from others ACT in Faith can help build relationships with those we serve in an effort to build a stronger community.

Some of the partners of ACT in Faith are Chester County Community Foundation, Chester County Food Bank, and Greater West Chester Sunrise Rotary. Some other groups include social services, community partners and faith communities.

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There is a need for awareness around providing students with supplies because without these supplies students will not be able to be successful with their studies. Each year parents spend about $696.70 during the back-to-school season. Actions need to happen because families should not have to struggle with costs to provide their children with food and school supplies. Teachers for America the article estimated that parents are expected to pay “$1,017 for elementary school supplies, extracurricular fees, and technology” (O'Connor, 2019) over the next year. With the help of ACT in Faith families will have more support with their groceries and supplies that their kids will need.

Act in Faith started as a way to provided families in the West Chester area with food and supplies so they could be successful in their everyday lives. An article from Education and Career News stated that 76 percent of teachers said "student self-esteem improved when students had the school supplies they needed" (Mediaplanet, 2022). Act in Faith does this by providing ways for people in the are to donate supplies such as school supplies and different food items. They are always looking for help such as volunteers and they have many links on their website where anyone can donate items to help the community.

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The topic we have chosen to focus on is about how costly it is for students to go to school around the country because of school uniforms and required school supplies. When starting school each year families pay thousands of dollars to acquire all the supplies needed for their child to have a successful school year. Most of these families receive a school supply list that is from the school and then on top of that they receive a list of things the teacher wants them to have. Parents also must purchase new clothes for their children and shoes each school year because children outgrow these things very quickly. Aside from parents having to pay thousands on these supplies, teachers also must pay money out of their own pockets to have extra pencils, resources such as calendars and decorations to make their classroom special. Most school districts leave the teachers with the classroom and then expect them to spend the money to pay the rest of the supplies.

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To learn more about ACT in Faith, and what they do for the community here in West Chester check out the website below!

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The topic of the price of school supplies being high impacts us because as students, we must buy our own books, computers, folders, notebooks, and writing supplies. The burden falls on the students, and little aid is provided to these students who need help purchasing these supplies to reach their full potential. Most financial aid comes in scholarships or taking money off the total expense of college, but some students need it so that they can buy their materials. Also, we are both aspiring teachers, so this will affect us in the future as we will need to provide materials for students, or we will have to watch our students struggle without a way of helping them. If teachers want to provide supplies to their students, they must buy them with their own money, putting strain on the teachers as well, as they want to help their students but may not be able to afford to provide materials. If the student cannot afford to get the supplies themselves, they will be forced to suffer the consequences of something that they cannot fix, and it could possibly hold them back or discourage them in their education.