History of TST
Winter '11
The Sharing Tree provides school supplies to students in need in the Hudson School District. Our goal is to provide the students with the necessary supplies to help them succeed in the upcoming school year.
The Sharing Tree began in 2002 as a family venture when we, Cindy & Ken Corbett, and our three sons, organized and operated The Sharing Tree out of our home. Since its inception The Sharing Tree has provided much needed supplies for over 770 students, including 201 in 2011. The number continues to increase annually.
School supplies are provided to students in pre-school through 12th grade. What makes our program unique is that during registration, the students identify their school and grade, and we provide the supplies specifically requested by their teacher rather than a backpack filled with random supplies. Each classroom in the district has a different supply list.
Registration forms are available at all Hudson schools, at the food shelf, and here on our website. Families submit a registration for each student who needs supplies. The registration materials identify the student by name, age, gender, school, and grade.
After registration, school supplies are gathered in one of two ways: 1) student sponsorship, where supporters of The Sharing Tree shop for a specific student (identified only by grade, gender, and age); or 2) The Sharing Tree uses cash contributions and in kind donations to meet the remainder (the vast majority) of the unsponsored students' needs.
When all of the supplies have been purchased and collected, we hold a Back Pack Stuffing Night at the Hudson branch of the WESTconsin Credit Union. In approximately two hours last August, 19 volunteers prepared and sorted specific school supplies for 201 students.
The culmination of our program year happens on Distribution Night. That too was held at the Credit Union. Seventeen volunteers staffed tables delinieated by school category: Elementary-112 students; Middle School-43 students; Hudson High School-46 students. Families and students arrived and received their supplies, and then were able to choose their own backpacks.
Who Benefits. For some students, receiving a backpack full of supplies is a highlight of the year.
One fourth-grade boy said it was his first new backpack in five years; his dad (a single parent) had been mending his old backpack since kindergarten.
A grandfather told us that his granddaughter had eagerly waited for her new backpack for two weeks. On Distribution Night, we watched as she sat on the floor and emptied her backpack, smiling from ear to ear as she inspected her new school supplies.
Some families have come back year after year. One foster family, for instance, told us that without The Sharing Tree, they would have a difficult time providing the necessary school supplies for their six special needs sons.