“Today, we gather not just as a school, but as a compassionate community united to ensure that every child’s basic needs are met so they can thrive in the education journey. This is a momentous day.” These were the opening remarks of Darla Wall, Principal of Officer Elementary School, when hundreds of students, parents, teachers, administrators, and community members gathered on an unseasonably warm day in February 2024 to celebrate a new service partnership between The Little Bit Foundation and East St. Louis School District 189. (Read more about the event.)

“It was momentous, and the answer to many prayers,” says Sydney Stigge-Kaufman, Executive Director of Communications and Strategic Partnerships for the district. “I’d met with someone from Little Bit about eight years ago and proclaimed immediately, ‘yes, we need you!’ but they didn’t have the capacity at the time to expand across the river.” Through the years, Stigge-Kaufman heard the same sentiment from school social workers who’d had experience with Little Bit at other schools. “When they learned that Little Bit would be coming to East St. Louis, they were over the moon,” she says.

Stigge-Kaufman says the district of 11 schools and 4,600 students – 99% categorized as low-income – is a central component of the community and strives to make a difference in every student’s life. “Unfortunately, in East St. Louis, we have a lot of poverty, violence, and insecure housing, and most of our students qualify as ‘school dependent.’ So, we need to be a safe space for them with what they need to thrive. Our Superintendent says it best, and that is ‘we have no disposable children; they deserve every opportunity.’”

She says that despite having one of the highest tax rates in the state of Illinois, local funds can’t support basic school district expenses, so they rely heavily on state, federal, and competitive grant funding, along with partnerships to provide targeted supports. “The beauty of Little Bit is you get a full sense of partnership – they can respond to each school’s individual needs while becoming part of the fabric of the school community.”

“When I was first introduced to Little Bit, I was amazed at every level of need they address. It’s as if they took Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and created a service model out of it,” says Principal Wall. Her school, Annette Officer Elementary, is one of two in the district to partner with Little Bit beginning in 2024. “We are definitely one of the lucky schools to have Little Bit.”

Wall describes the motto of the school as, “One team, one roar (referring to the school’s tiger mascot), one family,” and says the students, whom they refer to as scholars, are their children. “They love school, and what I want  most for them is to walk through the doors with learning as the biggest thing they have to be concerned with. Little Bit helps us provide that security and assurance.”

Wall remembers a five-year-old who arrived to school clearly distressed. He shared with staff that he was worried because his father had lost his job. “We followed up with dad and determined how we could help, including providing food bags, uniforms, and other items from Little Bit. There was such a sense of relief for both dad and son that we cared and had their back.”

“I definitely came into a family,” says Shai Thomas, Little Bit Program Coordinator responsible for the services at Officer. “From the security officer to custodian, every member of the school is looking out for the wellbeing of students and families, and I know many teachers had been paying out of pocket to help address their basic needs. I’m so glad that Little Bit is here.”

Thomas admits that she wasn’t fully aware of the magnitude of poverty before joining Little Bit or of the trueness of “When you look good, you feel good, and when you feel good, you do good.” “The students are so thankful and excited for the smallest of things, often in disbelief when we say, ‘yes, you can take that home,’” she says. “Sometimes, the teachers will tell me that ‘so and so needs a little TLC’ and I’ll ask them to help me in the boutique, or just spend time with them. We call ourselves ‘Little Bit’ but we do a lot.”

“Little things go a long way, and Little Bit certainly has been a blessing to us,” says Dr. Kareem Mateen. While his title is College and Career Counselor, Dr. Mateen describes his role as two-fold: “first, to support students with whatever needs they have; and second, to prepare them for the next level.” Given his close connection with students, he was tapped as Little Bit’s liaison for East St. Louis High School.

“Little Bit’s support is from the ground level up – backpacks and flow kits to college and career readiness,” he says.

The native of East St. Louis and graduate of East St. Louis High, has spent his 30-year career at his alma mater, first as a teacher, then assistant principal, and now focused on students’ pathway to college and/or the workforce. “Yes, we have issues, but we’re a proud community,” he says. “Much of our population migrated from the South in the 1950 and 60s with the promise of job opportunities in the North, so you’ll still find Southern manners and that relationships are everything. This community believes in me – I’ve taught many of the parents of students I work with now – and has entrusted me to help cultivate the potential in our students.”

Dr. Mateen says that most of what students lack is exposure. Little Bit has brought STEM coding and engineering projects into the hands of East St. Louis students through LINGO, opened its annual college and career exploration fair to the school before its official partnership with Little Bit, and in 2024, exposed students to professional engineers through lunch-and-learns sponsored by Boeing. “To see engineers that look like them gave them such encouragement. One student said she wanted to go to Mizzou just like the female engineer that spoke with us, so I helped her look into early admission and apply for scholarship options. The whole experience was very powerful.”