ST. LOUIS- Little Bit Foundation has been around for 22 years making sure kids have what they need to move any barriers that they may have to getting their education.
"So it started 22 years ago with two soccer moms, Rose and Elise," said Miranda Walker Jones, CEO of Little Bit Foundation, "They went into a school delivering coats from a coat drive, saw the need and just became really passionate about making sure they got kids what they need to start."
The foundation has seen its presence grow throughout the St. Louis-area, with a presence in 47 schools, as far north as Riverview School District and as far south as Hancock Place School District.
The foundation helps make sure kids have essentials like clothes, books shoes, uniforms, and basic toiletry items.
"We wanna make sure that all kids get books. So kids get two free books every semester that they're in school," said Walker-Jones.
They also try to expand their presence further, with the foundation helping with food drives, college/career readiness and awareness programs at middle schools and high schools.
Schools have been especially impressed with what the group does that it has asked the foundation to help more especially when it comes to family wellness and support.
"It is something the schools asked us to really start to dig a little deeper to make sure we have case managers on site so that we can connect families to services," said Jones.
The foundation faced plenty of adversity in the past year, as a catastrophic flood in July 2022 destroyed 80% of the items in their warehouse and also forced the organizatin to move into temporary facilities while they continue actively working for a permanent location. Now with the increased demand from schools around the area, more help is needed.
"We can't do this without volunteers," said Walker- Jones, "They are the heartbeat of this organization. And so we're doing a real big push right now to get more and more volunteers to come and help us with this mission."
Walker- Jones says volunteers can do a one day at the warehouse, do some sorting or even a regular volunteer at a school for a few hours a week.
