"Birthday" school supply drive collects 2,846 items

Pencils, markers, crayons, scissors, glue, folders, notebooks—for families getting ready to head back to school, school supply shopping can be either stressful, fun, or a bit of both. And unfortunately, some families can’t afford to buy new school supplies for their children at all.

Julie Schmidt, a para-educator at Clarion-Goldfield-Dows Middle School, decided she wanted to do something for those families.

For her birthday at the end of July, Schmidt asked for people to donate school supplies, rather than presents. She created a “Birthday School Supplies Drive” event page on Facebook, and soon she started receiving donations. However, they were far more than she expected.

“Some people just brought a couple things, and some came with sacks full,” she said.

About 20 different individuals and organizations gave, and gave generously. In total, Schmidt so far has received 1,520 items, including erasers, glue, folders, crayons, colored pencils, notebooks, packs of paper, plus packs adding up to 1,326 pencils—2,846 items in total.

For the full story, see the August 17 edition of the Monitor.