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SoWashCo CARES

SoWashCo CARES

Our community helping our community.

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Student Needs

Student Needs

SoWashCo CARES is probably best known for meeting the basic needs of students. 

As a community, we want to set our students up for success in every way that we can. This means making sure every student has food, clothing, school supplies and access to the resources they need so they can focus on learning when they come to school.

Food/Snacks

We are always in need of nut-free, individually packaged snacks. Please visit our Amazon Wish List or drop off snacks at East Ridge High School in Woodbury or at the District Program Center in Cottage Grove.

School Supplies

We collect gently used markers, pencils, sharpies, dry erase markers, scissors, rulers, calculators at Summer Skoolie events. New supplies and backpacks are always welcome too! https://www.sowashco.org/academics/school-supply-lists

Shoes/Clothing

We get requests from school staff about students coming in with shoes and clothes that don’t fit or are not in good condition. These needs are posted on our Facebook page immediately and community members volunteer to donate the items needed. When a donor responds to the post on the page, they will be messaged with the details of which school to drop the items off and who the contact is. 

Gas/Grocery Gift Cards

We collect gas cards and grocery store cards (Target, Walmart, etc) for school staff, social workers and homeless liaison to have in hand for immediate needs. We also collect coffee and lunch gift cards to give to staff as tokens of appreciation.

Winter Clothing

Seasonally we collect winter clothing. We assign donors specific items and sizes for coats, but can always use more snowpants, boots and water-proof gloves in multiple sizes and ideally in black. Click to Donate Winter Clothing.

Amazon Wish List

We have an Amazon Wish List which we update seasonally, making it easy for community members to donate exact items needed with a click of a button. Items purchased off our Amazon Wish List are shipped directly to Community Education Offices at the District Program Center and delivered to the schools where they are needed.

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SoWashCo CARES is a 501c3 non-profit education foundation supporting students, families, and staff of South Washington County Schools. It serves all or parts of the communities of Cottage Grove, Newport, St. Paul Park, Woodbury, Afton, Denmark and Grey Cloud Island, all eastern suburbs of St. Paul Minnesota.

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