CCS Tools For Schools Needs Donations

Written on July 11, 2013 by Staff Reporter

Categories: Archive 2013, News Archive 2013

Tags: Altrusa Club Warsaw, Combined Community Services, Combined Community Services Tools For Schools, Kosciusko County Community Fairgrounds

The annual Tools for Schools program offered through Combined Community Services is in need of donations in the form of new school supplies and cash.

Each year, CCS offers the Tools for Schools program to give area families one day to come out and get all of their children’s necessary school supplies. Available supplies range from notebooks and pencils to crayons and glue sticks. Even book bags are provided and it is all free.

Peggi Lisenbee-Wright is the director of client services for CCS and said, in preparation for this year’s giveaway, approximately $3,000 in supplies and book bags have already been purchased, but about $5,000 is still needed to purchase more supplies. The program largely benefits families struggling to provide all of the necessary items their children need to start school.

In each of the last two years of giveaways, CCS has provided approximately 1,500 children with all of the school supplies. From erasers to notebooks and pencil boxes, supplies are provided free of charge to students in Kosciusko County. Parents are asked to bring their child’s school supplies list to the giveaway and CCS staff and volunteers will collect the items for each child.This year’s giveaway will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 7. Like last year, Tools for Schools is happening in the Home & Family Arts Building at the Kosciusko County Community Fairgrounds.

Also during the supplies giveaway, free haircuts will be provided by stylists from area salons. CCS Executive Director Steve Possell said nearly 300 haircuts were provided last year.

Items needed for the giveaway include: backpacks, 3-ring binders, 2-pocket folders, 24-count boxes of crayons, Fiskar scissors (not plastic), soft rubber erasers, colored pencils, colored markers, blue and black pens, compass and protractor sets, rules, spiral notebooks (college and wide-rule), filler paper (college and wide-rule), Elmer’s glue (both bottles and glue sticks).

Monetary donations for the program are also needed.

Donations for the Tools for Schools giveaway may be brought to CCS, 1195 Mariners Drive, Warsaw, during normal business hours. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday.