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Cooper Foundation and City Officials Distribute Backpacks, School Supplies to KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy Students
From left to right: Camden City Councilwoman and Lanning Square Resident Shelia Davis, Cooper Foundation President and CEO Susan Bass Levin, Cooper Plaza Resident Sheila Roberts, and Camden City Councilwoman Dana Burley with KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy students.
CAMDEN, N.J. — The Cooper Foundation, along with city officials and school leaders, today distributed backpacks and school supplies to students from KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy Lanning Square and John Greenleaf Whittier schools.
The Foundation collected more than 1,300 backpacks filled with school supplies during its Operation Backpack Drive this summer.
“Through Operation Backpack, our Cooper employees and friends have once again demonstrated their generosity and their commitment to Camden’s children,” said Susan Bass Levin, President and CEO of The Cooper Foundation. “Having a new backpack and the proper schools supplies helps KIPP students feel confident about the year ahead and excited about learning.”
The backpacks and supplies were donated by Cooper University Health Care employees. As a result, every child in the school received a backpack with all the necessary supplies for a successful start to the school year.
“We are grateful for the support we receive from The Cooper Foundation, our public leaders and the broader Camden community,” said Drew Martin, Executive Director of KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy. “Operation Backpack shows our students how much the community cares about them and wants them to succeed. It is a message these students will carry with them as they pass through these doors each and every day.”
KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy is New Jersey’s first renaissance school, and serves students in grades Pre-K through 8th living in Camden’s Lanning Square, Cooper Plaza, and Bergen Square neighborhoods.
“It’s so important that our students start off the school year on a good note and be prepared with the appropriate supplies,” said Camden Mayor Frank Moran. “Sometimes back to school can be a tough time financially for many Camden families. That’s why I commend our partners at The Cooper Foundation, the Camden City School District and KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy, not to mention the generous donations from Cooper University Health Care employees. Thanks to their donations, every student at KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy will now be able to focus on academics and is ready to have a successful school year.”
About The Cooper Foundation
The Cooper Foundation serves as the philanthropic, community outreach and community development arm of Cooper University Health Care, one of the largest health systems in southern New Jersey with over 100 outpatient offices and its flagship, Cooper University Hospital located in Camden, N.J.
About KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy
New Jersey’s first renaissance school, the KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy in Camden, N.J., was established under the state’s Urban Hope Act, which created a pilot program to provide students in three struggling school districts – Camden, Newark and Trenton – access to new, quality public schools in their communities. The Academy was created in partnership with KIPP, one of the most renowned, national networks of free, open-enrollment, college preparatory public charter schools; The Cooper Foundation, the charitable arm of Cooper University Health Care, and the Norcross Foundation. The new, 110,000-square-foot campus opened in 2015 and provides guaranteed enrollment for students in grades Pre-K through 8th living in the Lanning Square and Cooper Plaza neighborhoods. The Camden network opened its second middle school in August 2016 and will grow to include two additional new schools: an elementary school and a high school, eventually serving more than 2,800 students.
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