School staff presents partnership with National Giving Alliance to supply care packages to students in need

A school staff member described a proposed partnership between Chester-Upland School District and the National Giving Alliance to supply care packages of clothing, hygiene items and school supplies to students who lack basic resources.

The staff member said the program partners with retailers including Gap and Old Navy and uses a referral form that designated district staff or social workers would complete. "Basically what they do is partner with school districts, and they have donors," the staff member said, adding that packages are assembled by the organization and must be picked up by district staff.

The staff member clarified the initiative is not limited to students with McKinney-Vento status. "This one is not," they said, explaining the program can serve any student who needs items and that there would be no limit on how many items the district could request.

Board members asked how logistics would work; the staff member said the district would name a small set of contact people to complete forms and suggested creating a dedicated email address—similar to the district’s McKinney-Vento referral process—to track requests and prevent items from being lost in transit.

The presentation included a recommendation to begin the partnership as soon as paperwork is completed; the staff member said the organization indicated it could start immediately once district approvals and paperwork are in place.

The board did not record a formal vote on the partnership during the discussion; next steps discussed were identifying contact persons and completing the required paperwork.