I love summer.
Like, I’d give my left arm to banish winter forever and replace it with year-round summer (which might be why I want to move to Hawaii…). So I get a little grumpy when school supplies show up at Target, because it reminds me of the fleeting nature of summer in Minnesota.
Yet because of our history of backpack drives at Ace in the City, there is a big part of me that still gets really excited when back-to-school conversations arise. Few of our initiatives make a greater impact.
And this year’s backpack drive takes things to a new level: we’ve always desired that our efforts be collaborative in nature, no matter the focus of the work. And for the first time in Ace’s history, this year’s drive is being implemented collaboratively with four of our partner organizations at the Center of Belonging (The Park Place, South Uptown Neighborhood Association, Raise The Barr, and Emerge Mothers Academy). While we (Ace) will still facilitate the collection of the backpack donations, we will then hand those resources off to our partners for distribution to families in our community.
Further, after all the necessary supplies have been purchased, any remaining proceeds will support the work of Flourish Food Market—another collaborative endeavor (with Rooted Green Wellness) that currently serves 30-40 households every week with fresh, healthy food.
The reach and impact of this year’s drive will be greater than ever before, a reminder that anything worth doing is worth doing together. Thanks for partnering in this work—it takes all of us!!
Better together,
