Getting ready for back(pack) to school
Woolwich Community Services now taking in donated items for its popular school supplies program
WOOLWICH COMMUNITY SERVICES IS asking residents to throw some extra supplies in their cart when they’re back-to-school shopping this month, passing along the additional items to help WCS outfit nearly 200 students for the return of classes in September.
The agency’s annual backpack program is in full swing just now.
WCS executive director Don Harloff says they’re just starting to get donations and they need a bit of everything.
Last year they gave out 184 backpacks to students in the area and they expect to provide a similar amount this year. That number went up from 160 in 2014.
“We really collect things over the next couple of weeks. We see where the gap might lie, whether we need more backpacks, we need more paper, we need more pencils, or whatever we think we’re short of. And then with the donations that we receive we go out and purchase those items,” Harloff explained.
At this point in time they’re just happy to receive whatever supplies people are willing to provide.
Donations are being accepted at Woolwich Community Services’ office at 5 Memorial Ave., at PIB on Industrial Drive in Elmira and at Home Hardware’s head office on Henry Street in St. Jacobs.
They also receive plenty of donations from individuals, churches and service clubs.
“The entire program is operated through donations from the community, whether it’s donations of backpack materials or it’s donations of funds so that we can go out and buy items that are required for our backpacks,” Harloff said.
They provide the usual items you’d think of like pens, pencils, paper and rulers, but they need specific items for high school students, like scientific calculators, combination locks and USB sticks.
Thermoses and lunchboxes are also part of the program, allowing students to have a proper way to take their lunch to school.
“We just want to make sure that kids are well prepared to go back to school and excited about that fact as well,” Harloff said.
The backpacks are available to anyone who’s going back to school in the fall, has limited income, and who lives in Woolwich Township or the northern part of Wellesley Township.
This includes those entering post-secondary school.
“We do a few. Of course we don’t have a lot of residents that are staying here and going to college, they’re usually gone. But there are a few people that do come in and seek our support that way,” Harloff said.
Students who come to use the backpack program won’t be handed a backpack stuffed with supplies. Instead they get to choose the items they need for their grade level from a variety of options.
“They get to pick out their favourite colour, their favourite pencil, their favourite ruler, their favourite this, that and the other thing. So it really becomes a personalized backpack to them, which we think is much more important for them and much more exciting for them to do that,” Harloff said.
He says their goal is to have enough variety so the first person and the last person who come in both have a good selection.
Leftover supplies are kept for next year’s backpack program and so people can come in to replace something if it breaks.
“We just want to make sure we have enough supplies for everybody who’s seeking a backpack for themselves to get started. That’s truly our goal, to have enough variety for people as well,” Harloff said.
Coleton Benham’s Brush, Book, Bed program will also be running in conjunction with the backpack
program again this year.
Those who live outside of WCS’s limits can call the office to find out where their local backpack program is organized.
“The community is fantastic when it comes to this program. We certainly put out a notice that we’re doing the backpack program, but even before we do we have people coming in and offering their support to us. It’s one of those programs that really I think the community takes to heart. It’s similar to our Christmas Goodwill program in that people just really get behind it. It becomes an annual event for many,” Harloff said.
School supplies they’re in need of are backpacks, binders, calculators (scientific and regular), coiled notebooks, combination locks, crayons, dictionaries, duotang folders, erasers, glue sticks, highlighters, index sheets, Kleenex, children’s scissors, markets, math sets, three ring lined paper, pencil boxes, pencil cases, pencil crayons, pencils, pens, rulers and white out.
Donations can be dropped off by Aug. 22 to allow time for WCS to determine what materials they need more of, and then purchase them. Families in need can stop by the Woolwich Community Services office from Aug. 31Sept. 2 between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to pick out a backpack and supplies.