Beverly Unrath and Kristen Heid

Beverly Unrath and Kirsten Heid love kids and appreciate teachers. So when choosing their service project as part of the Women’s Leadership Program, the two immediately knew they wanted to do something to help kids and teachers.

“We know a lot of teachers spend their own money on classroom supplies. We thought we could raise money to help them pay for those supplies,” explains Beverly. “When we looked at the schools in Bismarck and Mandan, Jeannette Myhre really stood out to us. It has the highest economic need of all schools in the state, with 70 percent of the students there receiving free or reduced lunch.”

As they did more research, the women realized their project could be more specific.

“The school has a sensory room, but it is busy all day and just doesn’t have the capacity to meet the needs of all the students. The principal suggested we raise money to get sensory tools in every classroom, so kids could get their sensory needs met without having to leave the classroom.”

The women started the Jeannette Myhre Sensory Toolbox Drive and have set a goal of raising $500 for each classroom, for a total of $8,000 for the school to spend on sensory items. They’ve set a deadline of May 8.

“These kids deserve the tools necessary to optimize their learning experience. We can do this with the help of our community,” says Kirsten.

If you’d like to donate, you can contribute online on their You Caring page or through their Facebook fundraiser—search Jeannette Myhre Sensory Toolbox Drive on both sites. Checks can also be made payable to “Jeannette Myhre Sensory Toolbox Drive” and mailed to the school. They’ve created an Amazon wish list too—you can purchase an item from the list and have it sent directly to the school.