Covenant Living of Bixby Residents and Staff Donate School Supplies For Teachers, Students
Residents and staff at Covenant Living of Bixby understand that kicking off the school year means that teachers and students may be in need of school supplies. A 2018 survey by the U.S. Department of Education found that 94 percent of school teachers will spend nearly $500 of their own money to stock up for their classrooms. That’s why for the third year in a row the senior living community has held a school-supply drive.
A large cardboard box, made to look like a school bus, was set up in the lobby as a drop-off point for the residents and staff to fill up. Over the course of a month, the donations start pouring in with everything from notebooks, paper, pens, pencils, crayons, tissue and snacks.
“Many of our residents haven’t needed to buy school supplies for a lot of years now, but the opportunity to give back to the community seems to get them in the school shopping mood,” said Garrett Lee, Covenant Living of Bixby Executive Director. “We know we’re all part of the larger community here and seeing how much these school supplies can help makes it that much easier to get in the giving spirit.”
The donated school supplies were given to an adopted classroom at Bixby North Elementary School. They were presented to school teacher Gracie Edens, who teaches English as a Second Language (ESL) to Pre-K through the third grade.
“When partnering with the school, we’re able to receive a list of items from the teacher that are known to be needed for the classroom,” said Lee. “This gives our residents an opportunity to make sure all of those supplies are obtained, and I’m pretty sure there are some extras thrown in as well.”
Covenant Living of Bixby, a faith-based not-for-profit rental care retirement community, is located at 7300 E. 121st Place S, in Bixby. It is administered by Covenant Living Communities and Services, one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit senior services providers. Covenant Living serves 5,000 residents at 16 retirement communities nationwide and is a ministry of the Evangelical Covenant Church. For more information about Covenant Living at Bixby, visit www.CovLivingBixby.org or call 877-762-8031.
