United Way of Cass-Clay has kicked off its annual school supply drive.
United Way President Kristi Huber says this is the 18th annual school supply drive for the Fargo-Moorhead area. Last year, the drive equipped 5-thousand-2-hundred-60 students with backpacks and supplies for the school year. Dr. David Flowers is Superintendent of West Fargo Public Schools. He says about 30 percent of students in his school district qualify for free or reduced school lunches. He says poverty is an obstacle that is hard to overcome.
"It's important for school success that children come to school well fed, well rested, and with the resources they need. The United Way School Supply Drive ensures that huge numbers of children from across our F-M area come at the beginning of school with a backpack and the materials needed to be ready to learn."
Lisa Klabunde is a counselor at Cheney Middle School. She says the United Way school supply drive goes a long way in making a positive impact on students.
"Now, the backpacks that are donated aren't full of self-confidence. But they definitely help students exude self-confidence during those first few weeks of school. I know personally, in middle school, students just want to blend in. They don't want to be on one or the other end of the spectrum. One thing that can really make a student stand out is if they come to school with a pocket of pens and pencils, and maybe two notebooks that are half-used from the year before. It doesn't allow them to have that feeling of being part of the crowd."
This year United Way of Cass-Clay hopes to supply 53-hundred students with backpacks filled with school supplies, from kindergarten all the way to 12th grade. The communities of the Fargo-Moorhead area can participate in the drive by dropping off donations at selected drop-off sites, by giving monetary gifts. People can also organize their own workplace or neighborhood drives. Supplies must be dropped off by July 29, and will be distributed to students and families on Saturday, August 6th.