Media Advisory/Photo Opportunity

MEDIA ADVISORY/PHOTO OPPORTUNITY

Colorado State President Larry Edward Penley helps assemble

School Is Cool supply backpacks as part of university outreach program

WHAT:     President Larry Edward Penley will help stuff 1,300 backpacks with school supplies as part of the university’s School Is Cool philanthropic program for local elementary and junior high school students. The effort provides university employees with an opportunity to give back to the community by helping families each fall who cannot afford school supplies.

WHEN/     

WHERE:      8-8:45 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 10, Ingersoll Hall cafeteria, Colorado State University.

DETAILS:     School Is Cool is managed and primarily funded by university employees. The program, in its 13th year, provides backpacks filled with school supplies to less fortunate students in the Poudre School District. During its tenure, the program has provided nearly 10,000 backpacks filled with grade-specific school supplies to children whose families otherwise would not have been able to afford them. This school year, nearly 4,100 elementary and junior high students – almost 19 percent of local students in these grades – participate in the free or reduced lunch program, which is a guideline used to determine school supply need by School Is Cool. As representatives of an institution of higher education, School Is Cool organizers and donors enhance the quality of local school children’s education by providing them with school supplies to boost their study skills and self-esteem.

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