Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me.
Then the God of peace will be with you.” | Philippians 4:9
The national average cost of school supplies per student in 2024 varied between $701 and $875. The National Center for Education Statistics stated in 2021 that more than 90% of elementary and secondary school teachers spend their own money each year to make up for shortfalls not only in classroom supplies, but in food or other necessities for their students, with the National Education Association estimating that expense to be between $500 and $750, a number that is in addition to allotments provided to teachers by their school. Sacred Heart is holding its latest Giving from the Heart drive-through donation event on Saturday, August 9, at the North Campus, from 9 to 11 a.m. to help alleviate some of these burdens for the families, students, and teachers of two diocesan schools: St. Joseph Catholic School & St. Peter Claver Catholic School.
Can’t make it to the North Campus on the day of the drive?
Click the image to access our Amazon Wishlist, and have your donation shipped directly to the parish office!
Volunteers from our Loving Hearts ministry, which regularly collaborates with each of these schools through their “Adopt-A-School” program, will be gathered to receive school supplies ahead of the 2025-26 school year.
Many of you will know that the neighboring St. Peter Claver School (corner of Scott St. and Governor St.) was founded as a mission of the Jesuit Fathers of Sacred Heart in 1893. The school is the oldest continuously operating historically black grade school in Florida. The school remains committed to providing a quality education in a safe and nurturing environment for preschoolers through eighth grade in a microschool setting, with deliberately small class sizes to maximize instructional attention.
St. Joseph Catholic School in West Tampa, near McFarlane Park and only a few blocks south of Raymond James Stadium, was founded just a few years after St. Peter Claver School (1896) by the Diocese of St. Augustine, with a longstanding connection to the Salesian Sisters. Many of the families whose children attend St. Joseph’s are underserved in our community and need assistance with basic needs.
Items of greatest need include: Zip-Lock bags (all sizes) | Plastic folders w/pockets | #2 pencils (10ct.) | Crayons (24ct.) | Ballpoint pens (blue & black) | Paint brushes (various sizes) | Binder clips (various sizes) | Post-it notes (various sizes) | Assorted construction paper | Copier paper (white) | Crayola markers (8 or 10ct.) | Elmer’s liquid glue (8oz.) Elmer’s glue sticks | 3”x5” index cards | Colored pencils | Notebook paper (either rule) | Sanitizing wipes & spray | Scotch tape (3 pack) | Facial tissues | Paper towels | Dry-erase markers & erasers | Legal Pads
We want to supply the teachers, students, and families of both St. Peter Claver and St Joseph Schools with the materials they need to be successful from day one of this coming school year. As always, your generosity is greatly appreciated.
