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School supply drives planned for next week
By Peggy Blackburn
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Local students will return to class Aug. 11 -- slightly more than two weeks from today. The return to campus means students need new supplies of paper, crayons, pens, pencils and other items to use in school.
Purchasing those supplies can be expensive, and some parents -- especially in this year’s sluggish economy -- simply can’t afford everything children need.
Those students are the ones who the staff of the Elmore County Family Resource Center hope to help through their annual “Cram the Van” school supply drive.
For the fourth consecutive year the center staff is coordinating a drive to collect supplies for Elmore County students.
Three sites will be set up during a two-day period to collect item donations and monetary contributions. Vans will be waiting to be filled at Wal-Mart locations in We-tumpka, Millbrook and Tal-lassee. The Wetumpka drive will be Aug. 1 from 12 to 4 p.m. and the Tallassee and Millbrook collections are planned for Aug. 2 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Every year many Elmore County students start school without basic supplies, said Barbara Arant, director of Elmore County Student Outreach Services and the Elmore County Partnership for Children Inc.
“This is an extremely important event,” said Arant. “We want to be sure that all Elmore County students and teachers can concentrate on learning, rather than worrying about school items they cannot afford.”
Arant said there are other ways to help in addition to purchasing and donating supplies. The group welcomes volunteers to help collect supplies, and also encourages business sponsorships in addition to monetary contributions.
Suggested supply donations include: pencil boxes, pencils, notebook paper (wide and college ruled), crayons, markers, spiral notebooks, folders, glue, glue sticks, construction paper, scissors, rulers, erasers, backpacks, hand sanitizer, kleenex and paper towels.
Other agencies helping to sponsor the drive are civic clubs and volunteers and the Alabama Army National Guard. The Tallassee City and Elmore County boards of education are also assisting in the effort.
A $25 donation will sponsor a student in Elmore County to begin the school year with the supplies they need. The child will be given a pack of supplies including paper, pencils, pencil box, crayons, markers, ruler, spiral notebooks, folders, erasers, scissors, construction paper and more.
For more information, or to volunteer to provide assistance, call Arant at 514-4150.
“This is an exciting way to show support for your community and for the children in our schools,” she said.
Staff members will distribute supplies according to the needs of individual schools, in accordance with the county’s “at-risk” data.
