CLINTON, Iowa – A group of nonprofits are launching the Clinton County School Supply Project in hopes of collecting new crayons, pencils, paper and more to equip every elementary student across the county.
Connect Clinton County, a service of United Way of Clinton County, was created nearly a year ago to connect the county’s nonprofit organizations in order to improve collaboration and cooperation.
Andrew Green, United Way’s executive director, said Connect Clinton County began as a way “to unite all the nonprofits in the county so that everyone was working together all the time – instead of duplicating efforts.”
Through the School Supply Project, the nonprofit partners are attempting to combine all the individual school supply drives across the county and amp up into one large effort.
He said several organizations came together last summer for a summit that drew about 60 nonprofit leaders. “The people said ‘we need to be doing this more often’ and it grew into Connect Clinton County.”
According to Mr. Green, who assumed the helm of United Way in December 2021, School Supply Project will mark the first major, combined project for Connect Clinton County.
“We are always looking at how can the nonprofits work together?” he said. He recalled meeting other nonprofits and the schools who were getting ready to start the year. “There were all these ways to donate supplies, ways they hand out supplies. But not all the groups were working together.”
“First we saw the need to get everyone talking and make it an organized thing,” he said. “Then it evolved into ‘Can we get every kid in Clinton County their school supplies – at least in the elementary schools?’”
That, he said, is the project’s goal: to serve 3,700 kids at the 12 elementary schools across the county and provide them with the majority of their necessary school supplies.
To kick off collection efforts, Connect Clinton County will hold a Pack a Bus collection drive on Saturday and Sunday, June 3 and 4, at the Clinton Wal-Mart. In addition, a number of drop-off donation boxes will be placed at area companies, churches, service clubs and other sites.
The project will accept these supplies:
- #2 pencils.
- 24-count Crayola crayons.
- Dry erase markers and erasers.
- Pink erasers.
- Spiral notebooks – wide-ruled.
- Loose leaf paper – wide-ruled.
- Pocket folders.
- Rulers.
- Scissors (child and adult-size).
- Glue sticks.
“We’ve found out there’s a lot of school supplies happening at churches and clubs, and we need all those people to still do all that,” he said, adding they hope those efforts join in the School Supply Project. “If you go into an office to work, they provide you all the supplies you need to work. But with kids, we make them provide their own supplies.”
The new effort, he said, “will take the parents out (of the equation) and the supplies will go right to the teachers.”
He knows there will be other supplies that parents will need to purchase – such as tissues and wipes. But if all goes as planned, all students will receive all the basics from Connect Clinton County.
“I’ve definitely seen (drives) where people provide supplies for kids on free and reduced lunches, but as far as I know, I don’t know anybody who (donates supplies) for everyone.”
To meet its goal, Connect Clinton County is aiming to collect supplies for 5,000 students (there are 3,700 elementary students in the county).
He said the group will promote the campaign and collection efforts on a new Facebook page being created. But he estimated 20 to 30 sites already have agreed to have a donation box at their location.
For more information on the project, contact Mr. Green at United Way of Clinton County at (563) 242-1209 or email director@clintonunitedway.org.
