SVSU, mascot deliver needed supplies to Saginaw elementary school

Students at Saginaw's Jessie Rouse Elementary School received 10 boxes full of school supplies after a collection drive organized by Saginaw Valley State University students, staff and faculty.

No. 1 Fan, one of SVSU's Cardinal mascots, helped deliver the boxes full of notebooks, pens, chalk, children's books, poster boards, rulers and markers to the school campus on Wednesday, April 22.

The supplies were collected during the “SVSU Cares For Kids School Supply Drive” that kicked off in February. 

“I thought it went very well, especially since this was our first time doing this,” said Jenny Jimenez, whose idea sparked the campaign.

Jimenez, SVSU's assistant director of graduate and international admissions, said she pitched the idea to university officials after a conversation with her friends in Saginaw Public Schools turned to the need for supplies at some facilities.

“We have such a great student body, faculty and staff, and so I thought, we could put something together for the schools,” Jimenez said. “It was a natural fit.”

The drop-off was the first of the campaign, but organizers plan to continue the tradition on a regular basis, dropping off needed supplies to schools in the Saginaw, Bay and Midland areas in the future.

 

In 2015, SVSU received the Community Engagement classification from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, a distinction achieved by only 7 percent of U.S. colleges and universities. For more on SVSU’s community engagement, visit svsu.edu/communityengagement/.