Programs help with back-to-school necessities

2015 Projected Back-to-School Spending

Average family with K-12 children

School supplies: $97.74

Shoes: $117.56

Electronics: $197.24

Clothing: $217.82

TOTAL: $630.36

SOURCE: National Retail Federation

On the Web: https://nrf.com/media/press-releases/after-splurging-2014-families-trim-back-school-spending-2015

Poverty in Clark County Schools

Percentage of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch (listed by school district and poverty rate, in order from poorest to wealthiest):

Vancouver: 52.7

Evergreen: 46.3

Green Mountain: 41.0

Battle Ground: 37.5

Washougal: 40.5

Ridgefield: 30.8

La Center: 28.5

Hockinson: 21.3

Camas: 17.9

SOURCE: Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, May 2014.

Two Stuff the Bus events at Burgerville

To collect donated school supplies for Vancouver and Evergreen district students.

Donate any of these new supplies:

Backpacks, notebook paper, glue/glue sticks, composition books, highlighters, No. 2 pencils, notebook dividers, calculators, spiral notebooks, three-ring binders (2 inches thick), rulers, erasers.

Vancouver Public Schools

• 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday.

• Salmon Creek Burgerville, 13309 N.E. Highway 99.

• Buy lunch at Salmon Creek Burgerville between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. The restaurant will donate 10 percent of lunchtime sales.

• Info: Alishia Topper, Vancouver Public Schools, 360-313-4733 or alishia.topper@vansd.org

Evergreen Public Schools

• 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday.

• Fishers Landing Burgerville, 16416 S.E. McGillivray Blvd.

• Buy lunch at Fishers Landing Burgerville between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. The restaurant will donate 10 percent of lunchtime sales.

• Info: Rebecca Bafus or Ginny Gronwoldt, Evergreen School District Foundation, 360-604-4022.

It takes parents with deep pockets to pay for everything that children need to go back to school in September. Each school has a detailed list of required school supplies, divided by grade level. Although notebook paper and No. 2 pencils are still on the list, many students are required to buy scientific calculators, USB memory sticks and a stylus for an electronic tablet.

During this back-to-school season, parents of K-12 children plan to spend an average of $630.36 on back-to-school supplies, including almost $100 on school supplies, according to the National Retail Federation.

But as the poverty rate in Clark County has climbed, family budgets straining to pay rent and buy food each month can’t afford to spend hundreds of dollars on back-to-school purchases.

Last August, Vancouver Public Schools addressed that need by offering a one-day event for families to get free backpacks, school supplies and more. An overwhelming 2,000 people showed up to get help. Obviously, the need was greater than the Vancouver Public Schools anticipated.

This year, they are ready.

“If Vancouver had a need for more supplies, Evergreen must too,” said Alishia Topper, director of strategic partnerships at Vancouver Public Schools. “I figured we could get more notice and more donations if we collaborated.”

She contacted the Evergreen School District Foundation to ask if they wanted to team up for a citywide school supply drive.

“Find a collection site and donate,” Topper said as she loaded backpacks stuffed with school supplies into the Vancouver district’s new Family-Community Resource Center van on Thursday.

The citywide drive culminates with two Stuff the Bus events on Thursday at the Salmon Creek Burgerville for Vancouver schools and the Fishers Landing Burgerville for Evergreen schools. The goal is to fill 2,000 backpacks with school supplies.

“Or, come stuff a bus with supplies at Burgerville. And stay for lunch,” Topper said.

The Salmon Creek and Fishers Landing Burgerville restaurants will donate 10 percent of lunchtime sales to the school districts’ foundations.

Other school supply drives are happening around Clark County. Some of them are listed below.

Camas and Washougal

The Camas-Washougal Rotary Club annually supplies new backpacks stuffed with identical school supplies to both the Camas and Washougal school districts, said Molly Coston, Rotary Club of Camas-Washougal. This year, Rotary will provide 250 new filled backpacks, 125 for each school district. Additionally, WaferTech employees organize a supply drive.

The Children’s Home Society of Washington accepts donations and will distribute them to registered families. Drop off donated school supplies at 1702 C Street, Washougal.

Donate new school supplies to Camas students from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the district office, 841 N.E. 22nd Ave., Camas, said Doreen McKercher, district spokeswoman.

North County

Each year at North County School Readiness Day, volunteers from North County Community Food Bank distribute donated backpacks with school supplies to up to 900 children living in poverty and attending Battle Ground, Hockinson, Green Mountain or Woodland public schools.

On Saturday, volunteers at a Stuff the Bus event at the Battle Ground Wal-Mart, Fred Meyer, Safeway, Albertsons and the Mill Creek Pub collected school supplies and backpacks. They will be distributed to students at North County School Readiness Day from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday at Battle Ground High School.

To volunteer for School Readiness Day, call 360-687-5007. To donate, make checks payable to NCCFB with a notation in the memo section School Readiness Program. Mail to NCCFB, PO Box 2106, Battle Ground, WA 98604.

Hockinson

Hockinson Parents with Teachers is collecting school supplies to support district’s K-5 students in need, said Kristin Burckhard of the district’s parent-teacher organization. Donations can be dropped off at Hockinson Heights Elementary School or the district office during regular office hours or at the elementary school’s open houses on Aug. 27 and Sept. 8. For a list of supplies, visit http://www.hocksd.org/.

La Center

Saturday, volunteers distributed donated backpacks filled with school supplies to about 135 students who were preregistered for the annual Jump Start Backpack Program.

Last spring the district’s Family-Community Resource Center ran a school supply drive. Over the summer, Mindi Payne, FCRC coordinator and volunteers stuffed the supplies into backpacks donated by a local Nike employee.

“Poverty really does extend to all different types of people,” Payne said. “It’s our job at FCRC to make sure those barriers are completely gone for our students so they feel confident walking in the door on the first day of school ready to learn.”

Contact: Mindi Payne, Family-Community Resource Center, 360-263-2136.