A month or so ago my wife and I were discussing possible ways that we could give back to our amazing community. We brainstormed topic and topic and cause after cause. One of the recurring themes that kept coming up in our discussion was that we really wanted to help the students in our community to succeed. After we realized our heart was calling to serve our students, we came up with the idea of fundraising to pay off all of the outstanding school lunch (and breakfast) debt within the entire Waterloo Community School district. A lofty goal, indeed.
While many of the schools within the district already qualify for free lunches, there are also many that do not. Students in those schools who struggle to pay for their lunches may end up feeling stigmatized, even if they do end up eating. They may also make the choice to skip important meals like breakfast rather than be forced to endure the potential shame that comes with being unable to pay for their food. No child should feel that way! In a community as blessed as ours, we are convinced that there shouldn’t be a single student who is forced to choose.
That conviction spurred us to launch Serve Our Students, a 100% volunteer based project with a goal of paying off every single cent of the chronically late balances within the Waterloo Community School district. While the exact number is difficult to pin down, we’ve set a goal of $9000. If the Serve Our Students campaign should exceed that (or if the amount ends up being slightly less), any additional funds will go towards other school districts within Black Hawk County.
Use the link above to find out more or, if you are already convinced, please visit https://www.gofundme.com/soswaterloo to donate today, every single dollar helps!
Make sure to stop back regularly to check our progress as well as follow the latest news. We have several ideas in store!