Caring for Our Community Campaign

Donate to the D54 Foundation Families in Crisis Fund to help families in need

Financial hardships make it challenging to meet basic household needs which creates a barrier for student focus and learning. School District 54 students are your neighbors, your prospective employees or partners, your community’s future. Let’s give them the tools they need to be successful students today, and the leaders of tomorrow. That’s why we launched the Caring for Our Community Campaign in October 2022.

Will you support our goal of raising $100,000 for our Families in Crisis Fund in one year’s time? We are looking for individuals, businesses and organizations who will meet the challenge and become official Families in Crisis Fund Community Partners by donating a minimum of $1,000 online at d54foundation.org/donate or by contacting our fundraising team at [email protected].

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Supporting District 54 Families on Day 1

 

A Resource in Trying Times

 

What is the D54 Families in Crisis Fund? 

The COVID-19 public health crisis and deepening economic crisis had a profound effect on communities across the nation, including ours. Some families in our community are experiencing financial hardships that make it challenging for them to meet basic household needs. Financial insecurity impacts the way students in our district experience the world and can make it difficult for them to focus on learning.  

The District 54 Education Foundation started the Families in Crisis Fund in 2020 to provide critical financial assistance to families in the district. Donations made to the Families in Crisis Fund make it possible for families to afford groceries, utilities, gas and other essential items.  

How does it work?

The Families in Crisis Fund is operated by the D54 Education Foundation. The Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit charitable organization that raises funds to support programs not fully funded by school budgets or tax dollars. The Families in Crisis Fund was created to provide support to families experiencing financial hardships or troubled situations.

District 54 is fortunate to have social workers onsite at schools working directly with students. The social workers provide counseling to students and address issues that may affect academic performance.  As part of this process, they assess student needs for things such as food and clothing. The social workers then request funds from the Families in Crisis Fund. The strength of the Families in Crisis Fund is that it allows social workers the flexibility to request funds to support the diverse needs of families across the district.  

Impact to Date 

Because of the generosity of donors, the Families in Crisis Fund has distributed over $173,000 to hundreds of District 54 families since March 2020.

“The Families in Crisis fund has completely changed the way that we are able to support families. Before the Families in Crisis fund, we had to spend so much time (often without success) to find even $30 to buy a student a blanket, weekend food, shoes, etc. Staff consistently ended up spending more of their own money to provide these items for students because the funds weren’t available in the community. I can’t say enough how much staff and families appreciate quick and easy access to a fund to meet basic student and family needs.”  – School District 54 Social Worker

Click here to make a secure donation to the Families in Crisis Fund. For more information, call (847) 357-5027 or e-mail [email protected].