June Nonprofit: Simon Says Give - Worcester
/By Dani Babineau
Note: While the taproom is currently closed, you can add a donation to our monthly nonprofits when you order beer online at redemptionrock.beer/beertogo.
As we mentioned in last month’s blog post, donations to our nonprofits have been way, way down since the COVD crisis hit. It sucks and is depressing - but, thankfully, this month’s charity provided us a tiny glimmer of good news.
Despite the pandemic, our June nonprofit - Simon Says Give Worcester, which provides middle school backpacks and birthday parties to kids aged 5-12 from low-income families in Worcester - has been on pace to deliver more backpacks and as many birthday parties than they did in 2019. That’s pretty inspiring.
Even more inspiring: the entire thing is run by kids. The organization was founded by Simon Eber when he was in 8th grade (note: !!!) and he continues to run it now that he’s in his senior year of high school. And through the years, the organization has done amazing and important work.
We chatted with Simon about the work SSG-Worcester does and the impact that it has on kids in the city of Worcester. Check out our Q&A below to learn more.
What’s the mission of Simon Says Give - Worcester and what does the organization do?
Simon Says Give is a kid-founded and kid-operated nonprofit. Our Tagline: Kids Celebrating Kids. Our Mission: To develop the next generation of leaders to be unstoppable.
The organization was founded by Mandi Simon in Minnesota in 2012 when she was 8 years old. Simon Says Give – Worcester was the third chapter nationwide and started by me in 2017 when I was a student at Forest Grove Middle School in Worcester (I’m currently a senior at Saint John’s High School in Shrewsbury.)
Our chapter provides at-need rising middle school students in Worcester backpacks, binders, and all the supplies they need for middle school and birthday parties for kids ages 5-12 who wouldn’t have one otherwise.
Why is SSG-Worcester's mission important to the Worcester area?
BACKPACKS: Remember middle school? I do. It was the first time I was challenged academically (and socially). Subjects were taught by different teachers in different rooms. My backpack was filled with different, more numerous, and more expensive supplies than elementary school. I needed a new backpack to carry all my stuff to school, and I needed a binder to carry all my stuff between classes, because backpacks aren’t allowed in the hallways and there is no time to go to your locker.
High-quality bigger, stronger, and appropriately sized backpacks and binders. More and more expensive supplies. The costs add up.
Imagine low income families trying to afford that while paying for everything else, including putting food on the table. And the need is GREAT! More than 1,500 graduating Worcester elementary students are classified as high need each year (i.e. students who would qualify for free or reduced lunch if Worcester did not provide it free). Yet no organization was providing backpacks, binders, and supplies for low-income middle school students.
Middle school is when students “age out” of wonderful programs like Cradles to Crayons, which provides school supplies and backpacks in Worcester elementary schools (and corners the market on backpacks). More than 95 percent of what gets donated by other Worcester programs (like the terrific Planting the Seed) goes to elementary schools and none of the supplies are targeted to the students’ and schools’ specific needs. That won’t work for middle school students in Worcester. Requirements vary from subject to subject and school to school.
Enter Simon Says Give – Worcester. By the end of this summer, we will have worked directly with the schools to deliver more than 1,500 middle school backpacks to low-income students city-wide. The backpack contents have an average retail value of $65.
BIRTHDAYS: Joy is not a luxury. Sure, giving to provide something people need like food, clean water, or a roof over their heads is essential and must never be discounted. But the opportunity to give and spread joy can be just as powerful a feeling and important.
I really love birthdays and birthday cake and they have much more of an impact than people think. Have you ever not seen a kid smile opening a birthday present or seeing a birthday cake? But there are too many who need to be celebrated but whose families can’t afford to have a birthday party let alone the cake that goes with it.
Since 2017, we have delivered birthdays in a box for families to throw at home or hosted parties for more than 125 kids. EVERY party includes a personalized cake from The Queen’s Cups, customized gifts of need (like clothes or shoes) and fun (like toys and games), an Annie’s Kindness Blanket, and everything needed to throw a party from decorations to plates and cups, to games, to goody bags, to Silly String!
I want these kids to have all the joy I had at my parties. But every birthday-in-a-box complete with gifts costs up to $150. Which is why at-need families cannot afford them. That connection has come full circle for me. You see, Eunice graduated elementary school last June and I got to hand her a backpack for middle school. We talked about how she was nervous but excited. Then the principal told me Eunice is now reading above her grade level and often talked about how great she felt after her party last year.
YOUTH EMPOWERMENT: Our youth volunteers assemble and deliver all the backpacks and birthdays. 180 different kid volunteers have put in more than 2,000 hours of service since we started, especially the kid board who help to lead this organization. And we don't just “dump and run.” Until COVOD-19, we handed 90 percent of our backpacks directly to the students at seven elementary schools and answer questions about how we work and how they can get involved. That’s how we promote youth development. We’re about more than just volunteer hours. It’s awesome watching the sixth graders realize that someone just a few years older than themselves could do something like this and think more about doing more in their community.
What has SSG-Worcester accomplished that you’re most proud of?
As I begin my final year as president and my senior year in high school, I can see how lucky I have been. Simon Says Give lets me create my own identity for this chapter and truly adapt it for the kind of city Worcester is. I wanted to make sure our backpacks and birthdays were fully stocked and customized for every kid, even if that meant we didn’t grow as big as we could have by just providing some of the stuff. We personalize every cake and party and let students pick the color of their backpacks. We have handed every party to a kid and every backpack to a student or school to help inspire the future leaders of my community. I am proud of how my chapter has grown and impacted the city and am honored to represent Simon Says Give and all the joy it brings.
When I started the Worcester Chapter, I did not set any goals except to directly impact as many kids as I could. I still can’t believe how far we’ve come.
How might donations from Redemption Rock customers help SSG-Worcester in the future?
Every dollar donated to Simon Says Give – Worcester through fundraisers and individual donations will go to middle school backpacks, binders, and school supplies in the neediest areas of Worcester or birthday parties, especially birthday cakes and presents for low income kids age 5-12. Nothing else. We do birthdays all year long and have done more to date in 2020, in spite of COVID-19, than we did in 2019 at this time.
Do you have any upcoming events that people should know about?
Because of COVID-19 we have no events scheduled. We will be having a small backpack assembly for the remaining 200 middle school backpacks some time before school starts again. But we hope to reschedule our fundraiser at Redemption Rock at some point!
