San Luis Obispo County residents raise almost $50,000 for students and families impacted by COVID-19
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, Calif. - The community of San Luis Obispo County has donated nearly $50,000 to help vulnerable children and families within the San Luis Coastal Unified School District who are struggling due to COVID-19.
Within just two weeks, roughly 300 individuals and small businesses have rallied behind the Foundation’s School Closure Impact Fund which was created to help the school district respond to the growing needs of students during this pandemic.
“We put out a call for help and hundreds of community heroes stepped forward,” said Christine Robertson, Executive Director of the San Luis Coastal Education Foundation. “Kids are donating their allowance money. Parents, teachers, neighbors and local businesses are giving to help families they know might be hurting. With these contributions come messages of encouragement that the community is standing with our kids and we will get through this together.”
The San Luis Coastal Unified School District said that nearly 40% of the students in the district were already designated as socioeconomically disadvantaged before the economic disruptions of COVID-19.
School administrators, teachers, counselors and support staff are all working hard to meet the needs of these vulnerable students and families, but they cannot do it alone.
Thus, the community began to help out, contributing thousands of dollars to the School Closure Impact Fund.
The district said those funds are being used to meet the educational needs of students, such as technical support and equipment for in-home learning, specialized counseling and support services, food security and safe housing.
Last week, the Foundation granted a first installment of funds to the district’s Family Resource Center whose advocates are working directly with at-risk families, providing support services tailored to each individual family's needs.
For more information and to contribute to the School Closure Impact Fund, visit their website here.