On Friday and Saturday, August 9-10, 2024 the Historic King Drive BID No. 8 (Business Improvement District) and others were outside in front of Pete’s Fruit Market on the corner of Martin Luther King Drive and North Ave. collecting school supplies for Milwaukee Public Schools’ (MPS) students in need.
The ‘School Supply Drive’ has been apart of Bronzeville week for the past nine years and has endured severe weather, shootings and even COVID 19. But the need in our community for basic school supplies is too great not to continue with the event.
From 2006 to 2023, an average of 80 percent of MPS students and 72 percent of Milwaukee charter school students were classified as economically disadvantaged, according to data compiled by the Wisconsin Policy Forum.
“Too many times children come to school not prepared and this is a way that the community and MPS can help our students,” said Tracey Dent, an organizer for the event. “So that’s what’s so unique about us, we draw attention by staying outside all night long.”
