Back to School Safely at Club Blvd Elementary
UPDATE (8/22/21): While we are now set with the materials we need for outdoor lunch (thank you!), our classrooms remain an area of concern. Club Blvd Elementary was built in 1950, and as such has small classrooms and old systems, including HVAC. The district, unfortunately, has only been able to do minimal updates to the HVAC system (installing MERV13 filters) and has only provided 4 air purifiers for the entire school. Research from the CDC has shown that a layered method is the best way to protect our children from COVID at school, especially as we await approval of a vaccine for young children. This means wearing masks, eating lunch outdoors, and using air purifiers in classrooms. We've got the first two of these covered, but we need your help with the third, as, once again, the district is placing the burden of making this happen on individual schools.
At Club, we are fortunate to have engaged parents, and a team has been working with the school to find the best solution. This team includes parents who are engineers in the HVAC industry, and they have helped us pick the best air purifiers for our needs. As such, we would like to purchase 22 Medify Air MA-50s for our regular-sized classrooms ($350 each) and 7 Medify Air MA-112s for our larger classrooms ($700 each), along with replacement filters for each. This would put an air filter in every classroom, including the specials classrooms; media center; and AIG, ESL, and EC rooms. We know this is a big ask, but we believe that together we can make it happen. Please donate if you are able. Please also share broadly with your family, friends, and community. Thank you for caring for our kids!
Original Ask (Fulfilled!): With the school year quickly approaching, Club Blvd Elementary, a Title I Humanities Magnet School in Durham, North Carolina, is working hard to prepare for the return of students. At the same time, the Covid pandemic persists, meaning that keeping kids safe is one of the school's top priorities. One way to do this is to make space for students to eat outdoors, as well as learn outside. Currently, the school has picnic tables in the courtyard, along with some additional spaces that can be utilized. However, to accommodate more students, the school needs more options.
The money raised through this Go Fund Me will be used to purchase individual mats for each student that can be used for picnic-style seating on the ground (approximately $2.25 each; 401 students + back-ups); 12 additional picnic tables ($150 each); and sealant to protect the tables for long-term use ($64.98 for a 5-gallon container). It also covers the fees assessed by this platform. We continue to look into the options for bad-weather coverings (tents, shades, etc.) that could be used in addition to the covered breezeway area. We may adjust the Go Fund Me goal to cover these items if we can find good options, but we don't want to further delay getting the mats and tables.
While we wish our schools were funded in such a way that they had a budget for these items, this is sadly not the reality. We appreciate your support of our school and our students. Together, our donations, regardless of amount, will make a big difference at Club!
(Please Note: This fundraiser is being organized by Theresa Dowell Blackinton, a Club parent and the PTA president, with the approval of the school. This is because we want to get these tables in place right away and because official PTA funds cannot be spent until the budget is set and approved, which won't happen until mid-September, after school has already begun. Receipts for all purchases will be published to this page, along with pictures of the tables and mats at the school. Please do not hesitate to reach out with questions or concerns.)