The Estevan Salvation Army is continuing with its Back to School Backpack campaign.
The ministry had offered the campaign in recent years in conjunction with the Estevan Staples outlet. But Staples closed down in Estevan in January, leaving the Salvation Army to continue with the campaign on its own.
Ronza Reynard, the family services co-ordinator with the Estevan Salvation Army, said that after Staples closed, the Salvation Army was determined to proceed with the back to school promotion, so they could continue to help out local families.
The Salvation Army received some donations from Walmart, and they still had some funds left over from previous Staples campaigns. They also received some donations of school supplies from the community.
“We put it all together,” said Reynard. “We have been slowly getting all these things we need, and putting them all together.”
If families need assistance with school supplies, Reynard said they should visit the Salvation Army’s office and fill out a form.
“We need to know the kids’ ages, their school grades and stuff like that, and what their needs are,” said Reynard.
The deadline to apply is Aug. 18.
“After that, we will then call the families, make sure we have everything, and then they can come down with their kids, and pick out a backpack, which will already have supplies in the backpack,” said Reynard.
The backpacks will be separated by grade, and will be filled with supplies appropriate for that grade.
In the past, when the Salvation Army partnered with Staples, gift cards were distributed, which parents could use to purchase school supplies at the business. This year the campaign involves the Salvation Army filling the backpacks with supplies.
Volunteers were at the Salvation Army on Thursday to fill the backpacks for the children.
Reynard noted there hasn’t been a big demand for the back to school initiative over the years. She hopes they can fill 50 backpacks this year. Reynard estimates they have helped out 30 to 35 children annually since the promotion was introduced in 2013.
“I am hoping that we get a few more families that will partake in it,” said Reynard.
The backpacks include standard school supplies such as pencils, pencil crayons, erasers, paper, binders, scissors, calculators and geometry sets. And, of course, the kids get to keep the backpack.
“It’s your basic stuff,” said Reynard. “We’d never be able to supply everything that people are going to need for their kids to get back to school, but it’s a great start.”
And while the Salvation Army had a good start in terms of the school supply inventory, Reynard said they still need markers, binders and scissors.
But that’s dependent on how many families apply for assistance. If they get a sudden influx in the number of applicants, they will need additional donations and they will have to purchase more supplies.
“We won’t say ‘No, sorry, we’re out,’” said Reynard. “We will try our best to get what we can for everybody and what they need.”
