Law firm donates backpacks filled with school supplies to K-8 students

Proper school supplies can help ensure a successful academic year for students. But all too many families cannot afford all of the supplies they need to help their children succeed. For this reason, Butzel law firm is continuing a tradition it started four years ago to give away new backpacks and supplies to students at a school in Detroit.

Butzel recently provided nearly 400 backpacks filled with school supplies to K-8 students at MacDowell Preparatory Academy on Outer Drive in Detroit. The academy’s mission is to provide an excellent education for its scholars, prepare them for college, and build upon a tradition of excellence. Butzel hopes to help make that mission a little more attainable. 

“Many students across the state come from homes that are considered below the poverty level. For many of these families, school supplies are not at the top of the list when they are trying to pay the bills and keep the lights on, to say nothing of trying to put food on the table,” said Paul Mersino, attorney, shareholder, and Trustee of the Butzel Charitable Trust. “But studies indicate that students who have the proper supplies they need for school obtain better grades and higher test scores.

“Studies also indicate that when students have the supplies they need, their attendance improves, which also leads to better performance,” he added. “Just as important, by providing students with materials they need for school, we can help parents and families make ends meet and ensure they do not have to choose between purchasing school supplies and purchasing food, clothing, and other essential needs.”

Throughout the year, the Butzel Charitable Trust supports many local organizations, charities, and community activities in an effort to give back to the city that it has been located in for 167 years. This is the fourth year that Butzel partnered with the Kids in Need Foundation in order to bring these backpacks to these deserving school children. Butzel hopes to continue doing so every school year.