Needy Kids Go Back to School in Style

Seven hundred children in Manatee County returned to school this month with brand new school supplies donated to them by local Publix shoppers. Publix ran its School Tools for Cool Kids campaign for about a month leading up to the first day of school, which was August 20th.

The Safe Children Coalition (the 12th District's lead agency on the child welfare front), with the help of some members from BAANK, prepared the backpacks and supplies collected by Publix and delivered them. According to US Census data, about one in five children in Florida are living in poverty and are not able to afford the basic tools for going back to school.

According to the Safe Children Coalition,

Tampa Bay’s News Leader, “10 News” has kicked off their “2012 Publix Cool Tools for School Kids” campaign. The campaign began July 30th and will end on August 31st. The donations are made by Publix customers who want to show support to children who are in need of school supplies. There are fourteen Publix Stores in Manatee County who participate. Through this campaign the SCC has been able to stuff approximately 700 backpacks with needed school supplies.

We always appreciate the Safe Children Coalition's constant efforts in the community, and we also appreciate that Publix's values include charity and education. Publix organizes the donation of school supplies every school year, donates to other organizations doing the same thing, and gives college scholarships.

Want ways to help?

On your next trip to Publix, look for the School Tools for Cool Kids bins. Customers and associates can purchase pre-assembled school supply bags, purchase individual school supplies and/or drop off school supplies in the designated bins. Each Publix store works with community agencies to ensure the school supplies stay in the local communities where they were donated.

Check with local civic community groups, such as Rotary or Kiwanis Club, to see which service projects/efforts they may be supporting for back-to-school. 

In some communities, schools and teachers may post school supply lists for items that they are in need of for the school year.

The Back-to-School season has already passed, but schools are always looking for volunteers to help them throughout the year. Sometimes it's with jobs you might not think of! If you would like to give of your time and energy for a local school, visit these websites (or look your county's school system up on the web to find out how you can volunteer):

Sarasota County, FL: SarasotaCountySchools.net
Manatee County, FL: Manatee.k12.fl.us
DeSoto County, FL: DeSotoSchools.com

Education is so important for our children, especially children at risk, which is what makes these programs so great. They offer more than just pencils and backpacks; they offer education and empowerment.