While the calendar says early August and it might feel soon for people to return to school, CBRE employees in Chicago are making sure students in need are prepared to hit the books again.
Last week, a group of CBRE Cares Chicago joined with Cradles to Crayons Chicago to load backpacks at the group's annual Ready for Learning Backpack-A-Thon at the Daley Center Plaza in the Windy City. "We packed backpacks full of the essential school supplies that students need for a successful year of learning," Katie Colgan, an account director at CBRE with colleague Carolyn Worniak, said in a LinkedIn post. "This year's goal is over 70,000 backpacks!"
Cradles to Crayons, a nonprofit organization, said its backpacks are distributed to a network of more than 70 service partners including Chicago Public Schools, where classes start on Aug. 22.
"This is an annual event for us, but the first time we’ve been able to do this since 2019," Colgan said in an email. She serves as vice chair of CBRE Cares Chicago, and human resources business partner Worniak chairs the group.