MUSCATINE, Iowa–Though students may consider it too early to start thinking about back-to-school, parents across Muscatine County have already begun looking at school supply lists, trying to get good deals. For families in need, even sales may not put the supplies their children need in reach. United Way of Muscatine will hold a supply drive from July 30 through Aug. 4 to help meet this need.
Following the positive reception of the 2022 drive, United Way Community Engagement Manager Hilary Henke contacted schools to see if they would benefit from it again. She found schools willing and eager to do so. “This year, I reached out to our school partners to see if they still needed supplies, and there was an overwhelming yes!” she recounted. “The districts and families who were assisted last year were incredibly grateful for the generosity of our community members, and I’m confident we can have a successful drive again this year.”
The school supply drive will collect supplies for Louisa-Muscatine, Muscatine, West Liberty, and Wilton Community School Districts. They include a variety of new items:
- Backpacks
- Colored pencils
- Crayons
- Disinfecting wipes
- Dry erase markers
- Glue bottles
- Glue sticks
- Graph paper
- Hand sanitizer
- Headphones
- Highlighters
- Markers
- Notebooks
- One inch binders
- Paper towels
- Pencils
- Pencil boxes and cases
- Pens
- Pink erasers
- Play clay
- Pocket folders
- Reusable water bottles
- Rulers
- Scissors
- Sticky notes
- Tissues
- Wide-ruled notebook paper
- Zipper baggies in quart and gallon sizes
United Way of Muscatine school supplies donated to Louisa-Muscatine Community School District. Photo courtesy of United Way of Muscatine.
For those who want to support the drive but do not have the opportunity to purchase supplies, they may make monetary donations. Henke encourages them to mail checks with school supply drive on the memo line to PO box 797, Muscatine, IA 52761.
So far, more than 10 organizations have agreed to serve as dropoff sites, including KENT Corporation, It Takes a Village Animal Rescue and Resources, MidAmerican Energy, the Muscatine Center for Social Action, the Muscatine Humane Society, NextGen Motors, Scooter’s Coffee, and United Way of Muscatine in Muscatine; the Letts Public Library in Letts; First United Methodist Church, Liberty Communications, and MidWest One Bank in West Liberty; and Saint Mary’s Church and White Pigeon Agency in Wilton. United Way hopes to announce more collection points too.
Once United Way receives all the supplies at the end of the drive, they will divide them up and deliver them to the four local districts they serve. They will also take some of the backpacks they collect to the Trinity Muscatine Public Health back-to-school event on Aug. 8 from 12 to 7 p.m.
Getting a good education sets students up for success, and having the right supplies sets students up for learning. Henke encourages everyone able to donate to the upcoming United Way school supply drive: “Today, 6,300 Muscatine County households are struggling to meet their most basic needs. Over 4,300 of those households consist of adults who are working and earning more than the federal poverty level but less than the basic cost of living for Muscatine County,” Henke reported. “Due to rising costs, more families are struggling to make ends meet. The cost of school supplies on top of everything else can really add up. When we help each other, there are ripple effects that create a better, stronger community we can all be proud of.”
