After parents, guardians, and foster families dole out money during the summer’s school break for camps, vacations, sitters, and more, looming is the annual task of purchasing school supplies. According to a recent study shared on www.savings.com, more than half of Americans expect to pay more for school supplies than they did last year. School supplies, including a new backpack, are anticipated to cost anywhere from $400 to close to $800 per student, depending on age and grade.
Each year, lists of individual supply needs are provided in-person at schools or on school Facebook pages for students planning to attend one of the schools in the Macon County system. For example, close to 20 “essential” items are on the Macon Middle School supply list, posted July 15 on the school’s Facebook site, with donations appreciated for another six items, including paper towels and tissues.
While school supply needs may be a drain on some families, the Macon County community has historically been quick to fill needs. To assist students whose parents and guardians may not have the funds to purchase school supplies, Macon County Programs for Progress (MPP) has an annual Back to School Angels initiative in place.
According to Felicia Roberts, MPP’s Family & Community Outreach Specialist, “Back to School Angels furnishes Head Start children transitioning into kindergarten a new backpack filled with school supplies. Of the 63, 44 families have applied to include 43 transitioning children to kindergarten and all of their 40 siblings. We are now extending our support to Macon County Schools for all other children in need.”
MPP works with businesses in Macon County to accept school supply donations throughout June and July, but it also encourages businesses to make monetary donations so that extra school supplies can be purchased.
Back to School Angels provides students with these items: a regular-sized backpack, a set of headphones, a pencil box, #2 pencils, pink erasers, safety scissors, 24-count Crayola crayons, glue sticks, one subject spiral notebook (wide-ruled), Crayola colored markers, 2-pocket folder (plastic), 1-inch three-ring binders with a clear protection slip on the front, index cards, facial tissues, Clorox wipes, paper towels, and composition notebooks (wide ruled). Sibling backpacks are based on a generic teacher classroom supply list, which includes loose-leaf wide and college-ruled paper, 2-inch (3-ring) binders, a divider pack with tabs, and graph paper.
“There is no qualification process,” explained Roberts. “Anyone who needs [supplies] we try to help.”
Although this summer’s official MPP drive to accumulate as many school supplies as possible is over, anyone can contact Felicia Roberts at (828) 524-4471 ext. 406 or at [email protected] to learn how to assist “in the lives of our young children,” as she pointed out.
Traditionally, Macon County CareNet will also give school supplies to families picking up food from the ministry; however, a spokesperson noted that the organization has not yet received any school supply donations this summer.
Another Macon County initiative provides backpacks and school supplies primarily to foster children but also to adopted children. For 10 years, Rachel Marshall has spearheaded a supplies drive – mostly through the church she attends, Discover Church; but for the past two years, the effort has been overseen by a new nonprofit, Together We Can, founded by Julie Adams.
All needed items are written on individual cards. People attending Discover Church pick up the cards, shop for the items, and then drop them off at the church. This past Sunday, the items shopped for by Discover Church attendees were collected. However, Together We Can is also asking publicly for school supplies, which can be dropped off until Aug. 2 at a few different locations: Realty One Group Vibe (52 Iotla Street), Wayah Insurance (295 East Palmer Street), Macon County Sheriff’s Office (1820 Lakeside Drive), and Kaylee’s Closet (4462 Highlands Road).
Currently, 30 school-aged children are in the Macon County foster system, but many school supplies are also provided to siblings of foster children as well as to adoptive families. Marshall noted that last year’s Back to School Bash, when school supplies are given out, was attended by more than 100 children.
“Over the last couple of years, we have expanded to include siblings and adoptive families and we also help other children in need,” said Marshall. “Every child will always be provided for, even if the materials aren’t donated in full.”
Adams added, “We don’t offer this because all foster parents cannot afford the supplies. We look to be a resource and support throughout all aspects of their fostering journey. We walk along with our foster families from pre-licensing through all their seasons. When welcoming new members into your family, additional experiences occur and we are here to help. We also aim to create a fun atmosphere to celebrate the upcoming school year with ice cream, bounce houses, food, and fun.”
Marshall noted that providing school supplies is just one important avenue for making students feel “loved.”
“We don’t see their faces on the first day of school, but know these kids … are walking into school with all the supplies they need,” she said.
For more information about Together We Can’s school supply initiative, call (828) 342-7183 or email [email protected]. To donate to Together We Can and assist foster children in need, anyone can mail a tax-deductible donation to P.O. Box 1712, Franklin, N.C., 28744, or donate online to www.togetherwecan.xyz.