Back to School donation drive prepares students for school year

By NICOLE HASEK nhasek@iowainformation.com

 For children in need of school supplies, Teresa Lansman fills backpacks with notebooks, pencils, pens and other necessary back-to-school items.

 Families can sign up for the Back to School Donation Drive until August 9 by filling out a form either online at newopp.org or in the New Opportunities office. Typically, the organization prioritizes families who are on a program, such as Head Start or the reduced lunch program, but there are enough donations that this will not be a requirement this year.

 “We have so many donations from the county, I won’t turn kids away for school supplies,” Lansman said.

 Lansman fills the backpacks with supplies based on the grade and what the Greene County Community School District requires. Some of the most needed items include notebooks, dry erase markers, pencils and erasers. 

 “When [students] get the backpack with the supplies, it has everything for that grade,” Lansman said. “So they’re not just getting a mixture of supplies, it’s everything they need.” 

 New Opportunities holds this donation drive every summer before school starts, and they typically give supply backpacks to around 190 students. 

 If there are still needed items after the donation drive concludes, Lansman takes funds from donations and Wild Rose Casino to buy what else is needed to complete the supply backpacks. Lansman tries not to buy all the extra supplies in one spot to avoid “clearing out” a store for other students who need to buy school supplies, often traveling to other towns and making multiple stops.

 “When a child goes into school without much for supplies, or any little difference, the kids see that right away,” Lansman said. “To me, if we can get all the kids coming in with the same supplies and making it as uniform as possible, that’s one less thing that the child has to worry about.”

 Lansman said this donation drive is a chance for parents to save money who may have struggled with high food costs over the summer. She said she wants to help offer the essentials so parents can save money and be able to buy things like clothes for their children. The community response has always been positive, and Lansman said the families she works with have been grateful for the donation drive.

 Help was received from Sherry Graven, office manager of the Greene County engineer’s office, who shared the event on FaceBook to help spread the work, which Lansman said helps the most people know about the drive.

 “We are totally blessed because the community always steps up and spreads the word,” Lansman said. “I will get deliveries here like crazy of different things, people just want to help.”

 Families who have signed up for school supply donations will receive a message when the backpacks are ready, which will be either August 19 or August 20. 

 Donations can be dropped off until August 16 at New Opportunities located at 1401 N Elm St A, Jefferson or at Jefferson Telecom. Lansman said items can also be ordered online and delivered to New Opportunities. Headphones, Lysol wipes and Kleenexes are not accepted.