While many students are still working on finishing up their studies for this year, United Way of Cass-Clay is already thinking ahead to next year.
Tiffany McShane is senior director for community engagement at United Way of Cass-Clay. She says this year, the non-profit has shifted its timeline for its annual school supply drive, and its focus from physical donations to an online wish list. Community members can buy supplies like backpacks, pencils, erasers, notebooks and other items at bulk pricing that can easily be donated to the drive. And McShane says they’re also aiming for a higher goal this year.
"This year our goal has increased by 500 backpacks, to 6,500. We hope that we can fulfill the need that we saw an increase in last year; last year, we ran out of backpacks for kindergarten through 5th grade students. We were able to quickly pivot and ensure all those students received a backpack through our backpack pick-up event, but with that increased demand, we know that that age range is likely to continue to pick up."
McShane says a $25 donation is enough to purchase a backpack and fill it with all the supplies a student will need.
She also says when the physical supply drive is launched later this summer, they’ll have a good idea about what they need to fill in any gaps.
Community members can give online at unitedwaycassclay.org.