http://ozarkspub.vo.llnwd.net/o37/KSMU/audio/mp3/joliepittf_752.mp3
Thanks to the help of Springfield native Brad Pitt, his brother Doug, and local donors, a new fund has been established to help Springfield public school students who are in poverty. KSMU's Greg Leuthen reports.
And that is why Doug Pitt, a local businessman, talked to his brother, Brad Pitt, and local businessman, Jim D. Morris, about raising money to help Springfield children in poverty.
Currently, 44 percent of students in Springfield Public schools are at or below the poverty line, and 10 local schools had at least 80 percent of their students qualify for reduced or free lunches. Doug Pitt says his goal is to raise fifty thousand dollars to go directly to students for their everyday hunger, hygiene, and health needs. He says he wants teachers to use this fund as a tool to help fix everyday problems on the spot.
Doug Pitt also got the Jolie-Pitt Foundation, Jim D. Morris, and a private donor to pledge to match every donation the fund receives up to the goal of fifty thousand dollars. That means that if the local community collectively matches Pitt's goal, two hundred thousand dollars will go to local children in poverty this year. All three donors have agreed to match every pledge for at least the next three years. For more information about the Care to Learn fund, go to ksmu.org.
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