Mentoring group donates school supplies for students in need

Hundreds of students will begin the new school year with the supplies they need thanks to a donation to local schools by a south suburban mentoring organization.

Shopping carts at the Country Club HillsWalmart on 167th Street were filled to the brim as teachers and administrators fromMatteson based Elementary School District 159, Matteson School District 162 and Southland College Prep Charter High School in Richton Park shopped for families. The shopping trip wasmadepossible by a donation fromthe Making Disciples Boys Mentoring program.

The group started in 2015 and usually has a back-to-school event in August where children are given school supplies, but this year’s event was canceled due to the pandemic.

Eric Bassette, the group’s founder, and his wife, Annette, decided they still wanted to help children whowould need supplies so they reached out to the local districts.

“We believe that giving back to our children is the most important thing that we can do,” Bassette said. “Whatever we can do to enhance their learning, wewant to do that.”

The group made a $3,000 donation to Matteson School District 162, which includes seven schools from prekindergarten to 8th grade and servesMatteson, Richton Park, Olympia Fields, Park Forest and University Park. Elementary School District 159, which serves Matteson, Richton Park and Tinley Park, received a $1,500 donation.

Woodgate Elementary School teachers Cindy Bulthuis and Patrice Hambrick shopped for District 159. Hambrick also brought along her twin sons Joshua and Josiah, 4, and her son Devin, 8, who is a second grader at Woodgate. Like other students at Districts 159, 162 and Southland, Devin is starting off the school year remotely, with teachers instructing in their classrooms and students joining the class via computer.

Kevin Murphy, a Matteson School District 162 and Southland College Prep board member, stood inside Walmart Saturday, helping district administrators Rebecca Dixon and Jaimie Goodley fill baskets with items from crayons, rulers, folders and backpacks for elementary students to calculators, flash drives and headphones for high school students.

Murphy estimated between 50 to 100 familieswould benefit from the donation including students who are homeless.