Buddying up for back-to-school

Event: Back-to-school clothes shopping with the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley 

Location: Phoenix, Arizona 

Date: July 2024 

Exact Sciences’ involvement: Exact Sciences team members joined more than 200 other volunteers to take kids shopping for back-to-school essentials. Each volunteer was matched with a child and the group dispersed to three different Kohl’s department stores in the Phoenix metro area, where volunteers helped kids select new clothing and shoes. 

Exact Sciences also contributed $5,000 to help fund the event. 

Impact: Each Boys & Girls Club member in the group received a $250 gift card for their shopping trip. The 225 kids were selected based on financial need and outstanding attitude, the club said. 

Memorable moment: Mayumi Smyers, a molecular technologist in Exact Sciences’ Phoenix lab, joined the shopping trip. 

“I believe it is especially important for Exact Sciences to support youth-centric volunteer opportunities because the future is so important,” Smyers says. “The events that focus on developing confidence and mentorship are especially important to me personally as a child of a single parent who worked a lot. The Boys & Girls Club was an afterschool place that I went to as an elementary school student, and it has a dear place in my heart.   

“I was partnered up with a 7-year old named Aidenn. One moment I won't forget from this event is how comfortable Aidenn was with me. He talked to me like I was his friend and like I had known him for a long time — we talked about his sister and were vibing on the shirts. He also told me how he was instructed to get five shirts and five pairs of pants for school, and he was worried about how much it would cost. I forgot halfway through that I was supposed to be adding up the cost, but I was having so much fun! Luckily, I was on target, and he also got to pick out pajamas and a new pair of shoes. It was a good time, and I definitely would help out again.”