You may have seen the big white school bus parked at Viaero in Alliance last week. Obviously it wasn’t there to pick up kids for school. So what was happening?
Every year United Way of Western Nebraska (UWWN) hosts Stuff the Bus. Community members have the opportunity to help ensure that every single kid has the supplies to be successful in school regardless of their family’s resources.
Karen Benzel, Executive Director of United Way of Western Nebraska says the items the child receives are not marked in any way, so they are identical to the types of items their classmates will have.
Remember that back-to-school is an expensive time for families. Kids have grown. They need new clothes, shoes, coats. And, based on their grade, they need lots of supplies for their classroom.
I went to Carter’s and pulled the Alliance lists to see what kinds of supplies are collected. Then I priced the items on Emerson School’s First Grade list. (I did not drive around town checking prices. I used Amazon, because I was watching the Olympics. Several of these items would be cheaper if bought locally.) Unless a brand name was needed, I used the lowest price option I could find. Here is what I found, including brand names.
1 Backpack (Trailmaker) $8.95; 2 boxes cookies/crackers (Amazon brand graham crackers) $7.24; 2 packages yellow #2 pencils (Ticonderoga) $4.94; 1 box 24 Crayola Crayons $5.63; 2 large boxes Kleenex $6.99; 4 glue sticks (Bazic) $8.06; 1 pencil bag (Dellukee) $8.99; Headphones (VI) $12.99; 1 large pink eraser $4.82; 2 packages baby wipes (Pampers 56) $4.78; 1 pack BandAids 20 count kids #3.88; 1 pack Dry Erase markers (Expo 4 pack) $4.41; 1 water bottle (Zak Designs) $7.99; 1 container disinfecting wipes (Lysol) $4.97; PE shoes (EGMPDA) $19.99. Sales tax on everything but the graham crackers $7.52. Grand total: $122.15.
I’ll spare you the fifth grade list, but the grand total there was $123.76. Middle school and high school students will not learn what they have to purchase until the first day of class, as each teacher will have separate expectations. I did not check with other schools.
The Stuff the Bus drive has ended, and all the donations have been delivered to the Panhandle schools in the UWWN area.
In Alliance, United Way drops off supplies at the school administration building. Then those supplies are sorted by age or grade and delivered to the schools. Each school’s counselor can be contacted by parents; they will pull the supplies the child needs for his/her class. You do not need to be qualified by income, like free or reduced lunch forms.
Dr. Troy Unzicker, Alliance Public Schools Superintendent, said that any remaining supplies are given directly to classroom teachers. This allows them to replace any items their students need that disappear or break.
If you are a parent or guardian and you know your child needs help getting the supplies they need for the school year, call the counselor where your child attends school. Don’t let your family’s lack of resources prevent your child from starting school on a level playing field.