Anittah Patrick has been wheeling a little red wagon around to Philly tech companies to pick up school supplies for two South Philly public schools.
Patrick used to work at Leadnomics and now runs her own digital strategy company, but before she entered the tech scene, she spent some time teaching math to middle schoolers who were mostly poor. She was an undergrad at Yale then. She said she’s making it easy for tech companies to donate school supplies because it’s something she wished existed when she was too busy to think about these kinds of things.
She wrote in an email: “While building my career with 70+ hour weeks in NYC and definitely not teaching math in a public school, I would’ve loved if someone had emailed with, ‘I’ll come right to your office with a red wagon so you can donate supplies to a public school and write an encouraging note to the teachers or students.'”
She added: “A ream of paper from a .com won’t turn someone’s water back on, but at least it can make school that much more of a place of joy for any student whose family might be battling the serious kinds of problems faced by so many families in Philadelphia.”
Patrick was behind a similar initiative at Leadnomics while she worked there.
Here’s Patrick with the little red wagon at Old City’s Mighty Engine, which donated supplies.
@xoxoANP @KirkbridePHL @Jackson_PHL Thanks for stopping by with your little red wagon! #TheMightyEngine #PHLed pic.twitter.com/jKFA84U4yf
— Mighty Engine (@themightyengine) August 21, 2015
She’s donating the supplies to Kirkbride Elementary (she’s part of the Friends of Kirkbride volunteer group) and Jackson Elementary and is still doing pickups until end of the day Thursday. She’s especially looking for reams of paper, file folders and index cards.
Tweet at her to get her to come by with the wagon.
You can also make a donation here.
So far, she’s picked up supplies from six tech companies. Zivtech’s file folder donation got Patrick to 25 percent of her goal.
Thank you @zivtech for your amazing support of #PHLed and #BackToSchool! Your supplies are going to a good home
pic.twitter.com/t1NFhjHo3U
— Friends of Kirkbride (@KirkbridePHL) August 21, 2015
Center City’s Happy Cog came out strong with the paper towel donation.
Joe Rinaldi and the @happycog team are incredible. Thank you for supporting our schools by donating so many supplies! pic.twitter.com/dxB0z4Uf5r
— Anittah Patrick (@xoxoANP) August 21, 2015
South Philly students will be repping P’unk Ave.
A peek at how @punkave made their mark via liberating office supplies for the @KirkbridePHL @Jackson_PHL drive! pic.twitter.com/Q7orDyGuNR
— Anittah Patrick (@xoxoANP) August 21, 2015
South Philly’s Alphex donated some cash, too.
Not cray: @alphex started today's supply liberation strong w/hugely generous donation to @KirkbridePHL @Jackson_PHL pic.twitter.com/f9nEEBJIM5
— Anittah Patrick (@xoxoANP) August 21, 2015