School Supplies: Time to Donate

"fall is here hear the yell
back to school ring the bell
brand new shoes walking blues
climb the fence books and pens
i can tell that we are gonna be friends
i can tell that we are gonna be friends"

~ White Stripes, "We're Going to Be Friends" ~

There is something about fall, about the first day of school that for many is a fond memory. Despite the fact that it ushered in another school year and ended a long love affair with summer, the first day was a day of excitement and possibility. There is something about the excitement of seeing your friends, new school clothes, new school supplies. First days were set apart from the rest of the school year, because there was still a sense that things could be different this year. It might not be awkward and stressful. Then the second day, a day where the routine and creeping disappointment that everything wasn't going to be exactly as hoped, sets in.

Let's change the picure. What if there were no new school books, clothes, supplies? What if it was a new school where no one was your friend? What if the bus picked you up in front a place that wasn't your home because you had none? Would you have anxiety, be stressed out? I would.

This picture of poverty is a reality for some children; more than should be and more than many would believe in this affluent country of ours. I do not want to criticize anyone for their charitable contributions that help many other children in-need around the world, but I believe it serves a greater purpose to help children in our own backyard first.

School will be starting soon and I can think of no better way to help children then with school supplies and books, even clothes. As I mentioned in a previous hub, books help children excel in their education when they have as few as 12 books of their own. Smart children will make for smart adults. Smart adults have a chance for more opportunities in their life, which means we all benefit.

One of the easiest ways to help is by picking up extra supplies when you are shopping for your own kids and drop them off at your local schools, or give them to your child's teacher for other students. Teachers often use their own money to get extra things for the classroom and students because there usually isn't enough extra in the budget for them to do it otherwise.

If you do not have children, or they are all grown up you can either go to the local schools and ask what they or their students might need. Go out shopping for whatever might be on that list. Below I will provide a link that will help you locate schools in your area. It might be something to consider on a larger scale by starting a School Supply Drive for a school in need by enlisting the help of friends and family.

There is a web-site that offers another option for people to donate supplies and monies by allowing those donations to be mailed in. The site is iLoveSchools.com, a nonprofit organization that takes donations all year round (link provided below). Teachers on that site can create a wish list and donors can search those wish lists. This site help donors dollars stretch the farthest by getting items to teachers that their students and classrooms need.

Helping kids get a good foundation early in life is as easy as getting them the right tools for little money. As a matter of fact, Walmart had a box of crayons for 25 cents and Webster Dictionaries for $5.00. Just making a kid a little less stressed and helping them feel better about school is enough to change the world.

A special thank you to my parents who had enough pocket change to by me a golden book almost every time we went to The Buffalo Nickel.

Added May 19, 2011.

I want to mention Summer School. Some kids that attend summer school, or a year round school and may still be in need of supplies. Here is a chance to get those kids a leg up for the next year.

I will continue to mention the donation of books. Used Book stores often have good copies of popular books that could be easily donated to kids for the summer. Actually, with end of the school year it would make a great gift for students completing the year. Work with a teacher to make it happen. The statistics show that a good book can go a long way in the retention of knowledge from into the next year.

*Below I have provided an additional link to a web-site that provides information on charities and ways to donate.