Pencils, pens and scissors
Published 9:37 pm Friday, August 13, 2010
From staplers to used binders, the Parks and Recreation Department wants it all.
The department is leading an effort through Aug. 18 to collect school supplies for children in need.
“The economy is forcing us to do more with less,” Parks and Recreation director Lakita Frazier said. “Getting school supplies is invaluable to the success of the education for these children.”
Needed supplies include pencils, pens, markers, colored pencils, notebooks, binders, glue sticks, erasers, folders, scissors, notebook paper and tissues.
Drop-off locations are at Booker T. Washington, Mack Benn, Northern Shores, Creekside, Oakland, Whaleyville and East Suffolk recreation centers, the Cypress Park Pool, the Suffolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority, public housing sites and City Hall.
Frazier is encouraging people to dig through their homes for unused items and employees to forage for discarded office supplies.
“A lot of offices have old pens, folders and binders that were used for promotional material that no one wants anymore,” Frazier said. “We have some kids who could really use them.”
While some items, like glue sticks, need to be unused to ensure they’ll last throughout the school year, many can be used.
“Backpacks, staplers, calculators, rounded scissors — any of those items can come in used,” Frazier said. “Backpacks are really important. They don’t need to be new, just usable and not damaged.”
“If it’s something you can do without, it’s something someone can do with.”