Murphy Desmond: School supply drive for area low-income students

Contact: Amy Gores, Marketing Dir.

Email: agores@murphydesmond.com

Direct Dial: 608.268.5582

Madison, WI – Through August 28, 2009, there will be drop boxes available for school supplies to be given to area schools that have a disproportionate number of low-income students.

The school drive program, called “We’ve Got Your Back(Pack)” is being coordinated by volunteers at Murphy Desmond lawyers as well as the Madison Optimist Club Foundation.

Boxes for dropping off school supply items are located at:

Murphy Desmond Lawyers

33 E. Main Street, Suite 500

Madison, WI

8:00 – 5:00 Monday – Friday

Hybrid Fitness

2881 Commerce Park Drive

Suite A

Fitchburg, WI

Payroll Data Service

2418 Crossroads Drive

Madison, WI

8:00 – 5:00 Monday – Friday

SAFC Pharma

645 Science Drive

Madison, WI

8:00 – 5:00 Monday – Friday

Smith and Gesteland

8383 Greenway Boulevard

Suite 400

Middleton, WI

8:00 – 5:00 Monday – Friday

Creative Business Interiors

1810 Wright Street

Madison, WI 53704-2522

8:00 – 5:00 Monday – Friday

Checks written to: “The Optimist Club of Madison Foundation, Inc.” can also be put in boxes at these locations, and money will be spent to purchase items for purposes of this drive.

In addition to support from Murphy Desmond and the Optimist Club, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company is donating $10 to the school supply drive for every quote requested until August 15. Access Information Management is supplying the boxes for drop off and will be emptying and replenishing boxes as needed.

Currently, the schools that will be receiving the supplies include: Lincoln Elementary and Lindburgh Elementary in Madison; Wilson Elementary in Janesville; Iowa-Grant Elementary in Livingston; Boscobel Elementary in Boscobel; Richland Elementary Schools in Richland Center; and Riverdale Elementary in Muscoda.

Erin Ogden, attorney at Murphy Desmond, initiated the school supply drive in 2008, which she felt was successful for a first-year project. When selecting schools that qualified, she defined “low income” as students who qualify for free or reduced-price luncheons. Of the schools chosen, the percent of low-income students ranges from 32% in Livingston to 82% in Janesville.

“Our goal is to give as many children a great first day of school as possible. With the current economic situation, we think there will be many that will not be able to get all the necessary supplies. We hope to help alleviate some of that,” says Ogden.

School supplies needed include:

* Rest mat or beach towels

* Watercolor paints

* Crayons (8, 24, or 32 count)

* Washable markers

* Bottle of white glue

* Glue sticks

* Large backpack

* Large pocket folders

* Scissors

* 1″ plastic 3-ring binder

* Regular sized supply box

* #2 Pencils

* Erasers

* Large pencil eraser

* Zip-lock baggies

* Low-odor dry erase marker

* Wide-lined single-subject spiral notebook

* Black & White composition notebooks

* Packages of wide ruled loose-leaf paper

* Colored pencils

* Red pens

* Zippered pencil case

* 12″ Ruler (with centimeters & inches)

* 1″ hard cover binder

* Basic Calculator

* Protractor

* Compass

* Highlighter

* Lanyard

* Sketchbook (50-100 sheets)

* Post-it notes

* Large boxes of tissues

* Clorox Wipes

* Hand sanitizing wipes

* Gym Shoes

* Tape

* White board erasers

Visit www.facebook.com and search “We’ve Got Your Back(Pack)” for more information.