Morrison Community School District #6 Superintendent Dr. Suellen Girard is grateful to Alyssia Dittmar. The Store Manager of the local McDonald’s restauant, 604 E. Lincolnway, Morrison, IL, assisted a community drive to collect school supplies. They also donated “ten or 15 backpacks,” Dittmar said.
The idea originated from Operational Manager Tim Chapman and Supervisor Courtney Harnack. Rock Falls, IL, and Clinton, IA, stores collaborated with Morrison.
As an incentive, stated Dittmar, donors received a free McCafe drink during the drive. It began the first week of July 2013 and concluded on Tuesday, August 20, 2013.
McDonald’s staff dispensed drink coupons, mounted door signs, and explained the drive to customers for seven weeks.
Generous community members responded with so many items that LuAnne Wieneke reported, “It took me half an hour” to load them into her vehicle. The collection box was bulging.
Dr. Girard said, “Thank you to McDonald’s for the donation of school supplies for homeless and needy students.”
Morrison includes “situational homeless families,” she explained. These are “families that have no home of their own,” but live with someone in the community.
She reported the poverty level is above 50% at Northside and Southside Schools.
As the new school year began Monday, August 19, enrollment was “about even,” with “one less student than last spring. We won’t know [the exact number of students] for sure until after Labor Day. People are still moving around.”
The students in our school system who needed help with school supplies have received it.