Heading off to college is expensive and daunting for anyone. But what if you are the first person in your family to go to college? And what if you’re already working multiple jobs to pay for tuition, room, board and books?
Families spend as much as $1000 when they outfit their kids for their new dorm rooms. But as a first gen kid, how do you know what to buy? And how can you afford everything you need if money is tight?
This is where Grown and Flown Parents wanted to help make a difference.
We partnered with UT Austin College of Liberal Arts to support their students. Since 2011, UT’s 4-year graduation rate has risen from 51% to 66% by helping students with academic support, mentorships, and financial aid. Graduating on time is a crucial way for students to avoid racking up debt which may happen if they stretch their college life out beyond four years or worse, if they fail to graduate and drop out before earning a degree.
Move in Moms 2018
This year we are thrilled to announce that Target has made a $10,000 donation to UT for Move in Moms purchases! We already LOVE Target for dorm shopping and have ordered 2000 items (yes, 2000!) from Target for 250 UT College of Liberal Arts Foundation Scholar Program students. We can’t wait to head down to Austin to help assemble all of the bags of sheets, towels, pillows, surge protectors, shower caddies, and laundry hampers – everything that a new college student needs to settle into their dorm room.
Upworthy wrote about Move in Moms in this recent post.
Move in Moms 2017
Last year, Grown and Flown Move in Moms raised the money and bought dorm essentials while the wonderful staff at UT unloaded the enormous delivery and set up a small store as they waited for the freshmen to arrive.
Each student got a laundry hamper filled with twin XL sheets, towels, a shower caddy, mattress topper, mattress cover, surge protector and a pillow. ALL FOR FREE. And Lisa and Mary Dell were on hand to meet the students in the Foundation Scholars Program, chat with their moms (and a few grandmoms) and help hand out the bundles.
And at least one of us cried.
You can read more here and watch a video of the day to see how many things we handed out!
These supplies would ordinarily cost at least $200 per student but they got everything they needed thanks to the generosity of the Grown and Flown Parents FB Group, UT alumni, and friends and family.
Will you help us as we get to the finish line with our donations?
Five Ways to Donate to Move in Moms 2018
Grown and Flown is donating commissions on the sales of the following from May 1-August 30. Please support our project by making a purchase.
1. T-Shirt Quilt
Project Repat will transform a stack of your kid’s t-shirts (from camp, senior year, athletics, band, etc) into a quilt that is a perfect reminder of home (and a great way to re-deploy the growing stack of momentos in your kid’s closet.)
2. Coffee Mugs
Mornings are just much, much happier for us when we start them off with coffee in one of these oversized mugs.
3. Socks
Note-to-self socks are the most comfortable ones we have ever worn and we promise you will be even more motivated to work out when you put on a pair.
4. Donate via Paypal at grownandflown@gmail.com
5. Mail a check
Grown and Flown, PO Box 810, Katonah, NY 10536
Huge thanks to each of the generous donors listed below:
Move in Mom Donors
Angels ($200+)
Stuart Stedman
Lisa Singlyn
Danielle Clancy
Helene Wingens
Lynn Boswell
Christine Burke
Cindy Norman Moser
Theresa Beach Kilman
Barbara Jiongo
Becky Blades
Kathy Izard
Sharon Greenthal
Melissa Kelly Shoen
Bonnie Tayar Klein
Liora Shir Yalof
Lisa Lichtenberg
Mary Lou Harrington
Carrie Harrington
Bob and Kate Niehaus
Suzanne and Michael Sonnier
Other Donors
Jen Dulski
Paula Kiger
Susan Young
Sarah Winer Maizes
Gabby McCree
Tracy SC
Emily Hanford
Cary Lauritzen Welsh
Chantal Woolf Schwartz
Nina Pearlstein Fetner
Wendy Koch
Hershey Novack
Ellen Reavis Gerstein
Brenda Falconer Harris
Ruth Suzman
Kinch Reindl
Becca Sankary Bodzy
Barbara Feldman
Laurie Hall leister
Jessica Potts Lahey
Steve Sullivan
Lisa Sugarman
Ktie Workman
Carol Fishman Cohen
Rebecca Graziano
Linda Maltz Wolff
Janet Stark
Nancy Davis Kho
Michelle Miller-Adams
Richard Guentzel
Lisa Stapelton Weldon
Catherine Guggenheim
Andrea Bates Gerlach
Marlene Kern Fischer
Kirsten Jones
Elizabeth Spencer
Taylor Kay Phillips
Francia Shaw Ryan
Nancy Murtough
Cameron Olsen
Meredith Ryckeley
Janet Wall
Walker Berning
Mimisha Gohel
Leslie Brandford
Mary Jo Wrenn
Debra McKeown
Mark Manrae
Kate McCurdy
Grown and Flown Writer/Donors
Joanne McHugh
Heather Parlmer
Nina Stout
Beth Mund
Marybeth Bock
Holli Fawcett Clayton
Catherine Gentry
Lori Smith
Melissa Fenton
Maureen Stiles
Lisa Kanarek Kessler
Kathy Wetsell
Erin Mantz
Grown and Flown Contributions
FB Development First Place Prize
Project Repat, Notes to Self, Zazzle
Amazon/Recommendation Sundays (3)
