For many students, the prospect of returning to school after the conclusion of the summer holidays brings a sense of excitement and anticipation. However, for a subset of children, school can elicit anxiety. For those students, even finding the resources needed to get necessary basics like clothing and school supplies can cause a seemingly insurmountable roadblock. 

Enter Granite Education Foundation, Granite School District’s charitable nonprofit organization, that works year-round to provide students in need with a variety of important resources in an effort to help them excel as they embark on their education journey. 

While the foundation works to create fun events and opportunities that serve district students in the community who are in need, their Shop-a-Thon was a highly anticipated event, and one that marked the beginning of the academic school year. 

The Shop-a-Thon was designed to help Granite District students acquire the proper materials required to help them navigate the school year. With help from the major financial company Discover and the community at large, the education foundation was able to offer $250 shopping vouchers to students.

What made the Shop-a-Thon unique versus other drives and events, is that it allowed students to be a proactive part of the shopping experience. Students were accompanied by Discover volunteers, as they shopped at Kohl’s department store. As per the foundation’s social media post summarizing the event, “these shopping experiences, go beyond just clothes. They build self-esteem and empower students with confidence to walk into a classroom feeling prepared, empowered and proud of themselves.”

The event was able to help over 400 students who had been previously identified as students in need by teachers and social workers alike. Together, the foundation, its partners, and a host of invaluable Discover volunteers, pulled together to make the Shop-a-Thon a reality on Sept. 21. 

Dani Worell, a community affairs specialist with Discover Financial Services, said the shopping spree would provide clothes in addition to “shoes and all of the necessities to make them a success in school and to stand a little taller. [They also received] haircuts and vision screening, dental checks and just a lot more fun stuff.”

Representatives from Discover explained that they believe it is their duty to actually go out and work in the communities they serve in an attempt to be a good social partner. They wanted to go beyond just checks and donations, which are also highly impactful, but don’t always give volunteers the opportunity to work with an underserved population firsthand. 

Jessica Lee, who is a school social worker, also expanded on why these type of events are so important. “It helps these kids. It helps some socially, it helps them academically. It helps them to succeed. It helps them to perform better.”

  For many of these students, their lives can be completely transformed just by having proper clothing to call their own. Clothing that fits, that’s comfortable and that’s clean. At the same time, the nature of the Shop-a-Thon allowed the children to experience a day that was completely dedicated to them. Giving them the opportunity to pick out their own clothing, something that many of them have never had the opportunity to do before.

Discover played an instrumental role in getting the event off the ground. While it might seem easy enough in theory, charitable foundations find it hard to fully execute an idea of this scale due to a multitude of challenges including a lack of resources. This is why the Granite Education Foundation highlighted the contribution made by Discover and the community volunteers who were able to make the event a reality.  

“Events like this don’t happen unless someone in the community spearheads it,” said Jadee Talbot, the executive director of the Granite Education Foundation. “Thank you to Discover, not only [did] they fund it, but they [brought] all of the volunteers to really make it that red carpet day that special day and we can’t thank Discover enough.” 

As Utah’s largest school district, the foundation and events like the Shop-a-Thon are a necessity for connecting those in need with resources and supplies. On average, the Granite Education Foundation receives up to 10 requests for student aid on any given day. Events like the Shop-a-Thon enable the foundation to help on a significantly larger scale. 

“The payment is the smiles we get back,” said Rich Simon, the director of Discover Financial Services, “and the success that those kids have in the future.”