Local educators kicked off Centralia’s annual Back To School Supply Drive last Friday and Saturday at Walmart in Chehalis.
Holly Abbarno, an eighth grade math teacher at Centralia Middle School, said though the bus was only at Walmart for two days, anyone interested in donating can still do so.
“If they missed the drop off today and tomorrow, they can drop things off at the district office in Centralia,” Abbarno said Friday.
The drive is accepting cash donations too, she said. Any money received will be spent at the teachers’ discretion.
“Any of the money that is left over is put into a fund, and all of the counselors in the district get our information and then if they see a need then they just email us and we go and get it for them (the student),” Abbarno said.
Students in need of supplies will be able to obtain them right at school as well. Abbarno said all donated supplies are going directly to the schools. This way, teachers can see what supplies their students don’t have and get them the supplies they need at school.
The supply system is need-based. If a student comes to school without certain supplies, no matter their family’s income status, they are given the supplies. All a student has to do is ask.
Centralia Middle School Principal Lara Gregorich-Bennett was helping with the supply drive over the weekend. She said the drive did more than just give kids school supplies.
“It’s nice to see just how much people are supporting our students, so they’re ready for success. What’s really cool is it keeps kids from feeling like the have-nots and being self conscious of that, so they can all have what they need and they’re not worried about standing out because they don’t have something,” Gregorich-Bennett said.
The list of desired supplies includes: Backpacks, No. 2 pencils, pens, crayons, colored pencils, pencil boxes, calculators, dry erase boards, markers and erasers, rubber erasers, glue sticks, Ziplock bags (all sizes), earbuds and headphones, three-ring binders, pocketed folders; composite notebooks, college and wide ruled paper, spiral notebooks (college and wide-ruled), markers, highlighters, binder dividers, rulers, tissues, hand sanitizer, deodorant, socks (all sizes) and physical education clothing (all sizes).
Cash donations are still being accepted too. They can be given to the United Way of Lewis County, located on 450 NW Pacific Ave. in Chehalis, as long as the checks are marked for the Centralia School District. The Centralia School District office located on 2320 Borst Ave. in Centralia is also accepting both supplies and cash donations. Additionally, supplies can be dropped off at The Chronicle and Althauser Rayan Abbarno, LLP, in downtown Centralia.
