Invesco Cares Donates Backpacks to St. Coletta’s Kennedy School

Tinley Park, IL: Invesco, a financial planning group located in Downers Grove, IL, donated 48 backpacks to St. Coletta’s of Illinois Kennedy School through their Invesco Cares Program. The backpacks were handed out to students as they entered into their first week back to school. Each backpack contained essential items such as a folder, notebook, pencils, pens, and a ruler.

Students were full of smiles as they received their new supplies. “The students love their new backpacks,” stated Principal and Director of Education Dawn Angelini. “We are so appreciative of Invesco’s generosity and ensuring that our students have the supplies that they need for a successful school year.”

Invesco Cares is a global program focused on supporting the environment, valuing our people and their diverse perspective, and giving back to the local communities. Currently Dan Michalak, Portfolio Manager at Invesco, serves on the St. Coletta’s of Illinois Foundation Board, but has been involved with St. Coletta’s for many years. Michalak’s commitment to St. Coletta’s has brought Invesco to many St. Coletta’s premier events such, as the Kennedy Golf Invitational each August and the annual Caritas Gala each November.

On August 26th, the Kennedy School was greeted with 85 students on the first day of the new school year. The Kennedy School, which is a therapeutic day school, offers a year-round curriculum that provides students ages 4-22 with a safe and structured learning environment through consistency and repetition.

Once students graduate, many will continue on to the Transition Town Program, a job-readiness and life-skills educational program. As the need for special education programming and specialized one-on-one instruction has increased, graduating comes as no small feat. According to the National Center for Education Statistics the graduation rate among students who are protected under IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) is just 67% versus 84% of the general population. Students with intellectual and developmental disabilities have the lowest graduation rate of those served at just 43%.

St. Coletta's of Illinois, celebrating its 70th year, provides services to over 250 adults and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities through educational, vocational and residential programming. To learn more about St. Coletta's of Illinois Foundation, please contact the Foundation Office at 708-342-5298 or visit our website at www.stcolettail.org.