Stories

“We have been able to provide [students] with food to sustain them and sometimes younger siblings over long weekends or just when they realized they were about to run out of food.

We have been able to use the weekend kits and bread when students and their families had their SNAP benefits stolen.

These food and bread donations have sustained students when they had nowhere else to turn.”

“As teachers in Utah, I feel like we are never sure if we will have the money we need to buy things for our classroom. I teach in a high-poverty area and have to buy supplies for students (like pencils, notebooks, glue, etc.) on top of the regular teacher materials.

These events [new teacher store & teacher appreciation fair] really ease that burden for teachers at our school.”

“We had a mom pick up the Santa Sack for her student. She was in tears- so grateful that her student could get a sack with socks, a gift card, and other small items.

She wanted to make sure everyone knew how much these small things meant to her and her family, especially this time off year.”

“A student that I worked with this past year was living out of his car. He was so ashamed and nervous to tell people... One of the benefits to the meal packs is that he can use the hot water from convenience stores to warm up his food.

We gave him enough to keep him going and I am happy to say that he has graduated and moved on with his life. He was always so grateful for us showing him some compassion and understanding.”

“One of my students was living on the streets with her parents and was never in the same place for very long. Having a UTA bus pass allowed her to make it to school from any location in the valley.

Even if she was late, she was still able to make it to school so that she could receive services and free lunch.”

“I have a student who has needs at the most basic level. Every week, he looks forward to the weekend food kits because then he can share food and make a meal with his mother.

Without this support at this basic level, he likely would have stopped showing up for school.

He doesn't have a lot, but he knows that we will support him while he is here.”

“I had a student who ordered a coat for himself. When I called him down to the office to pick it up, he had the biggest smile on his face. I handed him the coat and he began to cry as he opened the bag. He said that he has never had a new coat in his whole life.

He held the coat close to him tightly as he continued to cry. He was so sincere and genuine with his emotions.”

I am so grateful for your generous donation! I don't feel like the words Thank You express my feelings adequately enough.

My students will benefit from this donation this year, and for years to come, as I intend to use it for student hands on activities! Thank you again!

“The Santa Sack Program helped us provide Christmas gifts this year for so many families in need.

From a family that just lost a son to cancer, a family with a newborn daughter that was born too early and in the NICU for months, to a mother escaping a domestic violence situation, and so many more.

This program truly has a positive impact on our community and holiday spirit."

As a child going to school in the Granite district, I benefited regularly from your food programs. Thank you for the work you do. It made a difference for me and for so many others.

I work with a family of four children (all elementary age) who were chronically homeless. They have been to five schools in the last year. They each had one outfit, all shoes had holes in the bottom with toes poking out. They were dirty and disheveled because they didn’t have access to consistent hygiene supplies, and they were hungry almost all the time. All the children had experienced trauma because of things they have witnessed and experienced in homeless shelters.

The family moved into our school boundaries after being placed in one of our rapid rehousing complexes. They all required significant mental health intervention to even function throughout the day in school. They were in constant survival mode because their basic needs were not being properly met due to poverty and homelessness. It was so hard for them to ever feel successful (or even safe) in school.

The Granite Education Foundation was able to provide clothing, shoes, hygiene kits, and school supplies for each child. These are children that have never previously had any possessions to call their own in any context. This gave them that opportunity. They had clothes, shoes, backpacks and supplies that they didn’t have to share and that were new. Alleviating even a few pieces of their stress caused a dramatic shift in mood and behavior at school.

As a school and as a district, we have such an amazing opportunity to create an environment where students feel loved, safe and taken care of. It really does begin with helping to meet those basic needs.