Cheney Outreach seeks school supplies

The Cheney Outreach Center is asking the community for help in providing needed school supplies for children who will be beginning and returning to school in about four weeks.

Outreach’s annual drive is not only seeking donations of new and used school supplies, but is also asking families with children in need of supplies to sign up. Outreach volunteer Sally Shamp said the organization provided supplies to over 100 children during last year’s drive, and hopes to service more this year.

Donations of supplies or money should be dropped off at the Outreach office, located at 616 Third St., below the Wren Pierson Community Center, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays between 9 a.m. and noon. Monetary donations can also be mailed to Outreach at P.O. Box 444, Cheney, WA 99004, with checks made out to Cheney Outreach Center.

Donations need to be received no later than Thursday, Aug. 20, although Shamp added that monetary contributions received after that date are welcome and still very useful.

“We do run out at the last minute and try to purchase more (school) items,” she said.

To sign up to receive school supplies, parents need to visit the Outreach office by no later than Aug. 20. Families living within the distribution area, which is bordered by Hallett Road on the north and Interstate 90 on the west, should bring proof of residency/children in Cheney School District 360, social security card, photo identification and proof of income when they sign up. Shamp said those families may also be eligible for other services.

Distribution of supplies takes place Aug. 25 and Aug. 26. Items may still be available after that, but on a limited basis. People are welcome to donate individual items, or backpacks full of the needed supplies.

“It means a lot to all these kids,” Shamp said.

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].

Items that are needed

Backpacks No. 2 pencils 3-ring binders, Dividers

Basic calculators Erasers Ruled paper Rules

Boxes of 24 crayons Liquid glue, glue sticks

Box of blue pens Scissors

USB flash drives Colored Pens

Spiral and composition notebooks

Washable colored markers

Specific school supply lists available at http://www.cheneysd.org.

Author Bio

John McCallum, Retired editor

John McCallum is an award-winning journalist who retired from Cheney Free Press after more than 20 years. He received 10 Washington Newspaper Publisher Association awards for journalism and photography, including first place awards for Best Investigative, Best News and back-to-back awards in Best Breaking News categories.

 

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