Although kids and teachers don’t want to hear this news, it’s time for back-to-school shopping. When you buy school supplies, socks and underwear for your own kids, consider buying extra to donate to local kids living in poverty.
The nonprofit foundations for Vancouver Public Schools and Evergreen Public Schools are working together to collect donated school supplies for students in need.
“Backpacks for all age groups are always a hot-ticket item,” said Ginny Gronwoldt, president of Evergreen School District Foundation.
In addition to school supplies and backpacks, new socks and underwear for kids from kindergarten through adult XXL for both genders are needed, said Jan Redding, director of public engagement for Vancouver Public Schools.
Supplies are being collected by the following businesses: Boomerang Coffee, 808 Main St.; Clark Regional Wastewater District, 8000 N.E. 52nd Court; Columbia Credit Union, all branches; Comcast Xfinity Cable Store, 8115 N.E. Vancouver Mall Drive; iQ Credit Union, all branches; Jim Parsley Administrative Office, Vancouver Public Schools, 2901 Falk Road; Twinstar Credit Union, all branches and Umpqua Bank, all branches.
Requested supplies include crayons, No. 2 pencils, notebook paper, spiral notebooks, glue sticks, jump drives and scientific calculators. See the complete list at the website for Foundation for Vancouver Public Schools.
Supply collections at these sites end August 19. Donations will be distributed to the school district where donation is made. Donations will be distributed to either the Vancouver or Evergreen district, depending on where the donation was made.
On Aug. 20, the donated school supplies will be loaded into school buses at stuff-the-bus events for both Vancouver and Evergreen districts.
Businesses, church groups and service clubs can do their own internal collection, said Redding. A toolkit on the Foundation for Vancouver Public Schools website makes it easy for groups to customize posters for their school supply collection project.
Sobering numbers
According to a National Retail Federation survey, the average American family with children in K-12 plans to spend an average of $673.57 on all back-to-school shopping for clothing, shoes, electronics and more. That includes $107.76 on school supplies. For many families living on the edge, coming up with extra money for school supplies right before school starts can be a financial burden.
One of the federal indicators of poverty in school districts is the percentage of students who qualify for free- or reduced-price lunch. In Evergreen, 47.1 percent of 26,450 students qualify; in Vancouver, 51.6 percent of 23,400 students qualify. Together, Evergreen and Vancouver have about 24,500 students who qualify for the federal school meal program. That’s nearly 3,000 more students than Seattle schools, which is the state’s largest district.
Recognizing the financial need of so many students, this year the Evergreen district is providing school supplies for all preschool through fifth-grade students. It has budgeted $25 per student, which is about $275,000 for school supplies for its 11,000 elementary students.
However, Gronwoldt of Evergreen’s foundation said school supply donations are welcome to help offset that cost and to help stock supplies for later in the school year.
“Come January, half the school supplies from the beginning of the year are gone,” Gronwoldt said. “Our main focus is middle school and high school, but we aren’t going to turn anything away.”
After the Aug. 20 stuff-the-bus events, donated supplies can be dropped off anytime at either of the school district offices.
Cash contributions can be made online at http://foundationforvps.org. Designate if the donation should go to the Vancouver or the Evergreen district.
