Florida Association of Insurance Agents

From the desk of Melissa Champany

It's time for the SmartStart4Kids back-to-school drive! FAIA's Young Agents Council (YAC) members will once again work to collect back-to-school supplies for students in their local communities. The remarkable dedication of our YAC members led to a successful back-to-school drive last year, and we hope to have an even more successful drive this year!

Starting July 1, the SmartStart4Kids drive encourages FAIA member agencies to collect back-to-school supplies for students in their local communities. Each YAC zone will have at least one donation drop-off location (and in some cases several), primarily at FAIA member agencies. These supplies will be delivered to local non-profit organizations that serve many low-income families, single-parent homes, homeless shelters, and foster children. The donations collected can include anything from backpacks and pencils to calculators and computers.

Each FAIA member has the opportunity to help students prepare for school, but those agencies collecting the most donations also have the opportunity to win a cash prize to donate to their local school supply recipient.

Last year, FAIA member agencies across the state collected an impressive $23,000 in back-to-school supplies for children in need. Let's work together to do even better this year!

We are very excited about this event and the support it will bring to families. Please consider participating; we look forward to hearing your stories of goodwill. You are invited to view the complete SmartStart4Kids Zone specific information list for questions about the event. We appreciate your involvement and support.

Let's show our community spirit! Together, we can make a difference.

What is SmartStart4Kids?
It is How You Can Help Kids Get a Smart Start!
Here's How...

• Every year, YAC holds a SmartStart4Kids back-to-school drive.

• The supplies collected can include all school materials, such as backpacks, pencils, pens, calculators, computers, notebooks, etc.

• In order to track donations, each item will be assigned a point value. Click here to view the point system sheet. Each agency is responsible for tracking the points for the supplies. Please use the list provided in the link above.

• There are two ways to win! The zone with the most points and the agency with the most points will win additional cash to donate to their school supply recipient.

• The contest is open to all FAIA members, but only agencies with YAC members can win. Not a YAC member yet? Click here to join.

• FAIA's YAC are divided into 11 zones throughout the state, and every zone will have at least one drop off location (and in some cases three or four) primarily at member agencies. Click here (coming soon) for a complete list of drop off locations, YAC Zone Coordinators, and the SmartStart4Kids information sheet. This list will identify who will receive the supplies in that zone.

• Donations will be delivered to non-profit organizations in your area.

• Collecting supplies is the focus; how an agency wants to package and deliver the supplies is up to them; however, we recommend boxes with handles for ease of transporting. If you are unable to take your donations to your local drop-off location, your local representative may be able to pick them up.

• FAIA's PR firm, Ron Sachs Communications, will draft press releases and contact the media in your local area to spread the word about the event.

For more information, please contact Melissa Champany.