About
Did you know that the Folsom Cordova Unified School District had 680 documented cases of “homeless” students last year? Can you believe that? It’s hard to grasp that so many local kids are struggling with something as basic as a stable place to live. This is not happening in some random city either, but in our own backyard.
WHAT IS A HOMELESS STUDENT? “Homeless” is defined as “an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate residence.” The students that the school district serves in Folsom and Rancho Cordova are living in unstable places like motels, in homes without a parent or legal guardian, in homes without power or water, in RVs in parking lots, in cars, in tents, on the streets, and more. Being a kid or teenager these days is difficult enough without adding the struggle of instability in living arrangements.
WHAT IS PROJECT 680? Project 680 is a grassroots team effort by local residents to do something about this problem. This all started with a sock drive in December 2008. After learning of the “680″ from the District Liaison for Homeless Services, and that having new socks were a felt need among these students, it became our goal to collect 680 pairs of socks. Well, we were overwhelmed with generosity from the community and we saw 3,144 pairs of socks come in. Local residents, neighborhoods, organizations, churches, and businesses all teamed up to make this happen.
PROJECT 680 IS EVOLVING: During our initial sock drive in 2008 residents kept asking what could be done on an ongoing basis to support local homeless students. The sock drive was wonderful, but it was clear that there may be other things we could do. This is exactly why we have put together the Project 680 Community Forum on March 11, 2009. Community members will meet together to hear from the District Liaison for Homeless Services, have a Q&A, and then discussion about what it can look like as a community to support these kids in a more ongoing way. This meeting will take place at 10600 Coloma Road in Rancho Cordova (thanks to Cordova Neighborhood Church for offering their facility free of charge). See the link above for details.
FINDING SIMPLE SOLUTIONS: Project 680 is all about discovering simple ways to support local students. We are not looking to create enormous and time-consuming programs either, but emphases that are easy to pull off and also make sense for everyone.
Advocating for local homeless students does not require a degree in rocket science, but only a willing heart to love in simple ways.
Contact Ryan at 916-595-3735 or ryan@cordovatowne.com for more information. Join the Project 680 Facebook Group.
“We can do no great things, only small things with great love” Mother Theresa
