Staff Senate

Appalachian Kindness In Donations & Service (AppKIDS)

2022 In-Person AppKIDS day is Friday, November 18th, 2022!

AppKIDS, organized by a Staff Senate committee, is an annual shopping event for 100 underprivileged children, K – 12, from Watauga County Schools to provide them with Winter clothing, hygiene, and snack food items. Appalachian faculty and staff, using donated funds, volunteer their time to mentor and guide these children on AppKIDS Day.

After two years of holding AppKIDS as a fully virtual event, the 2022 AppKIDS Committee is elated to announce that we are finally going to have an in-person, on-campus, AppKIDS event in 2022! There have been many changes on campus since we held our last in-person AppKIDS event in November of 2019. These changes are good changes, but they do mean that going forward we will be doing things much differently than we have been throughout the first 40 years of the program. First of all, to be fully compliant with our ‘Minors On Campus’ policy, we will be shopping virtually for our participating students in the same way we have the past two years. Virtual shopping dates are:

• Shoppers will pick up shopping packets on Thursday, October 13th or Friday, October 14th.
• Shoppers will drop off items on Monday, October 31st or Tuesday, November 1st.
• Families will pick up items, groceries, etc. on Friday, November 4th or Saturday, November 5th.

Shopping virtually is great, but a huge part of AppKIDS is getting these students on campus to show them that they CAN be on a college campus, that they are welcome at App State, and that people here do care about them. We are so excited to announce that we will be bringing our AppKIDS back on campus for an AppKIDS Day event on Friday, November 18th! More details to come about programming for this day--which will culminate in a lunch for our students and volunteers in the Grandview Ballroom! Activities will be happening in the morning and early afternoon, as we will need to have students back at school in time for buses to take them home. Volunteers for the in-person AppKIDS Event on Friday, November 18th will need to complete the Minors On Campus Training and submit to a background check. Please e-mail Clint Coffey at coffeycg1@appstate.edu ASAP if you are thinking about volunteering and we will start these processes for you with Conference and Events Services. Your background check will be good for four years, and the minors training will be good for one year. Volunteer duties will include chaperoning, mentoring, and having a ton of fun with our participating students!

• Sign up to volunteer as a Shopper! We will be shopping virtually this year from Thursday, October 13th to November 1st. More information about being a shopper can be found on: https://staffsenate.appstate.edu/sites/default/files/2022_appkids_shopper_information.pdf
• Sign up to volunteer for our first in-person AppKIDS event since 2019! On Nov. 18th we will be hosting our participating AppKIDS, during K-12 school hours, on campus for educational activities and App State spirited fun! E-mail Clint at coffeycg1@appstate.edu to sign up to volunteer!
• Donate Today!
  • Check, cash, or payroll deductions contributions are accepted; use our give button on the website
  • Checks are payable to Appalachian State University Staff Senate with "AppKIDS donation" in the memo line
  • Donation goal is $17,500
  • Donations are tax-deductible
  • Payroll Deduction - Appalachian employees may donate as little as $5 per month (6-month minimum pledge). This must be renewed every year.
    • Use Appalachian State University Self Service.
      (Logon>Employee tab>ASU Foundation Payroll Deduction);
      Please type AppKIDS FUND # 992568 in the form under "Please indicate the area(s) you wish to support below:
  • Be on the lookout for collection envelopes in your department this Fall.
  • For donation questions contact: Kara Harmon, 186 John Thomas Hall, 262-7394. 
  • Click here to give money

• You can use your Community Service Leave for this event!

• Several times a year we organize a healthy snack foods & hygiene products donations drive to benefit AppKIDS. For more information e-mail Heidi taithr@appstate.edu

• Volunteers for the in-person AppKIDS Event will need to complete the Minors On Campus Training and submit to a background check. When you reach out to volunteer, we will start these processes for you with Conference and Events Services. Your background check will be good for four years, and the minors training will be good for one year.

• If you can volunteer for "behind the scenes" duties that day, please e-mail Kara Harmon for those duties.

Testimonials

AppKIDS day is such an important day for so many. Unfortunatly it's hard to see it from every angle, so the AppKIDS Committee accept testimonials from the day to share with anyone who appreciates the impact this day creates for our community. Read them here: https://staffsenate.appstate.edu/AppKIDS_Testimonials and send us your own if you have any in the Staff Senate Suggestion Box.

Contact

For general questions, please contact:

• Chair: Kara Harmon - harmonkd@appstate.edu - 262-7394