New Supplies Help Students Thrive
The best part of summer’s winding down is the acquisition of new school supplies.
Opening the full bag is as thrilling as opening a treasure chest. Abundant new and fresh, here is everything you need to make this the best year ever. Then comes the rush as you sharpen new pencils, use an unmarred eraser and crack open a pristine notebook to write on the very first page.
School supplies give students a better start back to school.
But filling a backpack is a pricy venture. Not every family can afford to buy their students what they need to succeed.
Programs providing school supplies to those in need “are critical links to student success,” says Anne Arundel County Public Schools Superintendent George Arlotto. “The fact that a child’s family cannot, for whatever reason, provide the full range of materials needed for school should in no way be a deterrent to that child excelling in the classroom.”
To meet the rising number of students in need, Anne Arundel County Social Services collects donations, pairing donors with students on the free- and reduced-fee-lunch list at local elementary schools.
“This year, the free- and reduced-lunch list has increased by more than 1,000 students,” says Marcia Kennai, director of Anne Arundel County Department of Social Services. “And that has us worried that we may fall short.”
Last year, 6,700 students got donations of school supplies. This year over 7,200 students requested help. Nine hundred full backpacks are still needed.
School does not start until August 25, so there is still time to donate before the first day.
In South County, the Deale Office of Century 21 New Millennium identified elementary school children in need, up to 30 at one school. Its school supplies drive runs through August 20: 410-266-9005.
In Glen Burnie, Abundant Life Church gives out school supplies at its annual Kids Carnival and Family Fun Day on August 23. About 1,500 kids are expected this year. Donations of cash and supplies are welcome: 410-761-9075.
Anne Arundel County Department of Social Services is trying to match every child before the first day of school. To become a donor go to www.aacounty.org/DSS/BSP.cfm or contact the Back-to-School Program at 410-269-4462. Also, monetary donations can be mailed to Back to School Program, DSS, 80 West Street, Annapolis, MD 21401.
Calvert County’s Operation Backpack (www.thechildrensaid.org) is complete for this year.