Thursday, August 3, 2017

1st day of school



Aug. 2, 2017

CLOSE YOUR EYES and imagine that you are six years old and it is the first day of school.  Your mom, or dad, or grandmother, takes you to the school, gets you to your classroom.  You walk in with nothing in your hands except for maybe a sack lunch.   For whatever reason, when the teacher goes around the classroom to collect the school supplies that each child was supposed to bring, you don’t have any school supplies to hand over.   
Can you imagine how that child feels, how the other children look at him/her?  That first day of school is etched into my memory.
It is the goal of PHOENIX CIRCLE FOUNDATION  to try to see that every child walks into a classroom with SOME school supplies, not emptied-handed, on that first day of school. 
Our wider mission is to provide programs and resources to children in Blaine County and surrounding communities to enhance their lives.  In accomplishing our mission, the Foundation will:
             Promote education in all areas, including health and wellness, the environment, the arts and humanities;
             Sponsor and promote educational, charitable, and cultural events and opportunities for children to whom these programs and opportunities would not otherwise be available due to economic or other disadvantages.
             Partner with local public schools, Head Start programs and other social programs by providing materials and resources to disadvantaged children (students whose families are unable to purchase such materials and resources).
             Raise funds, apply for grants, and distribute monies, resources and programs to further our purposes.
For the past four years, we have provided free school supplies to many local families and their children. In 2015 we served just under 100 families, and there were still some students who we were unable to provide for.  In 2016 we partnered with the First United Methodist Church and donated over $300 in school supplies for them to distribute.  We have also provided cases of copy paper, boxes of tissue, and Clorox wipes to the elementary school office.  If and when we hear of a need for our community’s school children, we try to fulfill it.  
This year we are continuing with our SCHOOL SUPPLY GIVE-AWAY but, unfortunately, we have a limited amount of supplies available. We have packets of basic supplies (notebook paper, crayons, pencils, erasers, spiral notebooks, folders with brads, glue) and will have them available for parents and students to pick up on Monday, Aug 7, at 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. at the Opportunities office on Hwy 33 in Watonga.   First Come, first served.  
We welcome any and all donations to Phoenix Circle Foundation throughout the year, either in money or supplies, which will enable us to continue this mission in our community and our arts education programs.  Our thanks to all who are helping with these efforts.   



Donations made to Phoenix Circle Foundation are tax-deductible as a charitable contribution in accordance with IRS rules
. 
/Linda Barrett, Director
PO Box 427
Watonga, OK   73772
940-735-1065

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