The first day of school for our Santa Rosa County teachers.
And no surprise, our President of the DUO Santa Rosa Board was at five different schools to talk to the staff and to present the DUO cards.
“It is a time I look forward to and I am always happy to see the principals and talk to the staff about the good that they can do beyond the classroom for our students.”
She stated that she felt too many times our community thinks that our students are financially stable in Santa Rosa County, but “that isn’t true.” She finished that sentence, shaking her head. Statistics tell us that there are over 1,000 homeless children in Santa Rosa County. It is a troubling number.
But then she looked up and smiled and said, “But this is why I started DUO. There are so many students to help and too many teachers who dig into their pockets to help. I thought of DUO so that the child could be helped and the teacher could have other avenues to see that their students could get the help they need.
And it is working.
After three years of giving pre-paid cards to every principal of a Santa Rosa County, Florida, public school, DUO has helped over 500 students. The DUO Board knows these numbers because after each school year, the principals return a ledger sheet that gives a child’s first name and last initial, protecting the child’s identity, they describe the type of help each child needed, and they include the cost of that help.
Picture: Linda Sanborn talking with Milton High School faculty, August 3, 2026, about the DUO Organization and how important their role is as principal and staff in identifying and helping to meet the critical needs of children in their school.
They have witnessed over 50 students who needed shoes. Some children were wearing shoes that were two sizes too big. Others were wearing too small of shoes that made their feet hurt. Some were wearing sandals in winter. Some were wearing duct-taped shoes that were not only taped together but were also taped over the foot to stay on. With DUO Dollars they have helped those children immediately find the proper shoes.
The principals have helped over 25 students with clothes. Not because they were looking for a prom dress or an expensive pair of tennis shoes or a name-brand pair of jeans. They helped children who had experienced a fire in their home. They helped children buy a few outfits because they were kept from returning to their homes as their home-life situation was unstable. They helped over 100 children with winter coats the last two years as Santa Rosa County received unexpected days of snow and freezing cold temperatures. The DUO Dollars were readily put to good use for each of these children.
Continuing to meet these needs is essential.
We want to make sure that we are equipped to continue our support to the principals and their staffs so that we can meet those immediate and crucial needs of each child. And so far, we have met those needs.
Yet the hardest part is, of course, raising money. We have very generous donors. And our board members create yearly fundraisers. However, we have increased our goal to raise $48,000 this year, up from $38,000, as we have added a new school, Southside, and the last two years, we have had some principals asking for additional DUO Dollars throughout the year. We must raise what it takes to meet the immediate critical needs that the children in our county face
The second difficulty is that we can only help when we are aware of the need and sometimes for schools that is not always easy to determine. Children are not always forthcoming about a need. They are embarrassed. Sometimes they quit showing up at school. Sometimes we are lucky and another child will talk to her teacher, relaying the need that her friend has. It really is asking a lot of the principals and their staff, but they have been willing and worked hard to help us help the children.
Our mission is to see a need and meet that need, to cut out the red tape, to help immediately.
That was the message Linda shared Monday morning with Milton High School, King Middle School, and East Milton Elementary School.
Picture: Linda Sanborn at Bagdad Elementary School meeting with Principal Tiphanie Sapp and Assistant Principal Heather Stokes to deliver their $1000 DUO card to help the students in their school.
Her last visit for Monday was at Rhodes Elementary School. When Linda delivered their $1000 DUO gift card, she learned that 83% of their school population is considered living in poverty. And that is another troubling number.
These numbers are children, and we must help them.
Linda will be at every school delivering DUO cards and encouraging everyone to use those cards. Because when they see a critical need, they can meet that need immediately.
They can help our Santa Rosa children.
And you can help too.
Please donate to reduce the numbers and to give our children the help they deserve.