Seeing a need to assist unhoused people in the St. Louis area prompted Barack Obama Elementary School students to act. 95% of Barack Obama Elementary students are African American and 99% are economically disadvantaged.
The school’s student council organized a hygiene drive, rallying the school community, families, and staff to donate essential hygiene items for Gateway 180, a shelter supporting unhoused individuals and families in the St. Louis area.
Over 700 items, such as soap, lotion, toothpaste, wipes, and other toiletries were collected, valued at more than $2,000. Additionally, over 100 pairs of new socks were donated during a recent family sock hop event.
Students led the planning, organizing, promotion, and management of the drive.
This included using math skills to count and track the donated items, which took classroom lessons into real-world use – just as the students will do in future careers.
The students recently presented the collected items to Gateway 180 representatives who visited the school at 3883 Jennings Station Road.
Barack Obama School, which is part of the Normandy Schools Collaborative, has been recognized for promoting healthy lifestyles for students and families.
It has received the America’s Healthiest Schools Bronze Award from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. Students have planted gardens and participated in events like Girls on the Run throughout the year to encourage physical activity and healthy diets.
Barack Obama School is also home to the seventh Believe Project Literacy Lab, a library of diverse titles. Ninety percent of the characters or authors featured in the reading space will be people of color