Many of our Surgere Serves initiatives begin with an idea from an employee that radiates kindness. What often happens is the employee sees a need from a personal connection in their lives and prompts the rest of the Surgere team to get involved. Employees jump right in and exceed expectations, every time. We are constantly fascinated by our team’s ability to find new areas of need, propose solutions, and involve others – the same skills used to help our clients. Synonymous energy flows throughout our interactions with our clients, our community, and each other.
One of our employees heard about a large need for school supplies at AIM Academy, located in the Canton City School District, just a few minutes away from our world headquarters location. This year-round elementary school provides its students with free/reduced lunch plans as well as school supplies. Donated school supplies relieve families of the additional burden, and they can direct their household funds to other necessary living expenses, instead.
We determined a list of most-needed items after talking with the teachers. These items included black Expo markers, Crayola crayons, pencils, glue sticks, and Ziplock bags. The teachers often end up paying for additional supplies out-of-pocket as many students show up without any supplies. One teacher shared she spend over $300 for her classroom alone at the beginning of the year. It is clear how much the teachers do for the students and the community, so Surgere wanted to relieve the teachers of this responsibility.
Our goal was to collect at least 100 school supply items over the next 4 weeks. In typical Surgere fashion, our employees went above and beyond and exceeded expectations by donating over 500 items to the school.
On donation day, a few Surgere employees delivered the supplies to smiling and grateful students and faculty at AIM Academy. The difference we make when we come together drives us to keep connecting and caring for our community.
Learn more about Surgere’s community involvement by visiting our Philanthropy web page.
About AIM Academy
AIM is a public school in the Canton City School District and is open to the entire district. The population it serves is 100% free and reduced lunch with a current enrollment of 350 students. Beyond serving their students academically, AIM operates on a Balanced Calendar Schedule which means the students have a continuous learning cycle of 9 weeks of school and 3 weeks off. During the 3-week breaks, AIM offers small group tutoring and enrichment, continuous community supports, breakfast, and lunch to all students who choose to attend. AIM Academy is reimagining the calendar and how services are delivered to our at-risk populations. To learn more about AIM visit https://www.ccsdistrict.org/domain/466.