School Supplies for Students Drive

Each year, Martin Volunteers organizes the School Supplies for Students Drive to help make sure that thousands of local children start the school year with the tools they need to succeed.

Responding to a need in the community, the School Supplies Drive serves about one-third of the students in Martin County – those who are eligible for the free and reduced-price lunch program. In 2009, the project served 6,786 students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

HOW PEOPLE HELPED

The ninth annual School Supplies for Students Drive was conducted July 11-Aug. 14, 2009.  Here are ways people and organizations helped this year:

• Volunteer to sort supplies during late July/early August

• Plan a drive or school supplies party at your business, club or community – including staff, customers and/or residents. Think along the lines of the way you would handle a toy drive at Christmas time.

• Make a monetary contribution to the drive.
  Please make checks payable to Martin Volunteers/School Supplies and mail to PO Box 362, Stuart, FL 34995.
  Or use our secure online donation tool via PayPal:

Main collection sites are the "Little Red Schoolhouses" in the following locations:

Blake Library
Morgade Library
Hoke Library
Hobe Sound Library
Martin Memorial Palm City Health & Fitness Center
Publix Super Market, Cove Road, Stuart
 

Other collection sites:
Cash Plus

Edward Jones, Palm City

Faithway

Florida Power & Light

Forest Hills Funeral Home

Harbour Ridge

Mariner Sands

Martin County Property Appraiser

Martin County Tax Collector’s Office

MedVance Institute

Mobil On The Run, Jensen Beach

Montego Cove Condominium

Palm Cove 

Publix Supermarket (Cove Road)

Pratt & Whitney

Realtor Association of Martin County, Inc.

Reich & Mancini, PA

Riverside Bank 

Seacoast National Banks

Starbucks Coffee Co.

Treasure Coast Pharmacy

Trinity United Methodist Church

Special Thanks to:

WHLG Coast 101.3

Kohl’s Department Store

Mulligans Beach House

Martin County Library System

Martin County School District

School Supplies for Students A-Team Volunteers

Stuart Middle School

Wal-Mart Super Center, Stuart

ITEMS REQUESTED

Pens, pencil boxes, glue, binders, two-pocket folders, crayons, colored pencils, markers, scissors, rulers, erasers, notebook paper, subject notebooks and composition books.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Anne Lalley, program coordinator
E-mail: alalley@martinvolunteers.org
Phone: (772) 220-4472, ext. 232

HOW DOES IT WORK?

On an “order form” provided by Martin Volunteers, educators at all Martin County schools indicate the number of children who are eligible for the free and reduced-price lunch program. They also indicate on a checklist the basic supplies that these students will need.

During July and August of each year, the public donates school supplies or makes monetary donations for Martin Volunteers to purchase supplies. Volunteers collect, purchase and sort the supplies, and then distribute them to the schools.

HISTORY OF THE DRIVE

The 2008 School Supplies for Students Drive collected and distributed 39,092 items for 6,304 students in preschool through 12th grade who qualify for the free and reduced-price lunch program.

The Treasure Coast Veterans Auxiliary also sponsored its second annual Children’s Charity Golf Tournament to help raise funds for school supplies drives conducted through the United Way in Martin and St. Lucie counties.

The 2007 School Supplies for Students Drive (photo gallery) served 6,817 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. The drive collected 36,237 items -- not counting 36,000 pencils from the Pratt & Whitney pencil drive!

The 2007 drive also marked the first time volunteers were able to sort the supplies in the cafeteria at Stuart Middle School rather than in the heat of the Martin County Fairgrounds. “We are deeply grateful to principal Sigrid George for offering us the use of the cafeteria,” project coordinator Anne Lalley said.

The 2006 School Supplies for Students Drive (photo gallery) collected more than 51,000 items for 7,000 students in preschool through 12th grade. It is the largest amount ever collected and distributed by the drive, which is in its sixth year.

In addition to all Martin County public schools, supplies also went to youngsters at Hope Rural School, Dunbar Center, Gertrude Walden Child Care Center, Head Start, United for Families and Caring Children/Clothing Children (4-Cs).

"Monetary donations really helped this year in supplementing the supplies people provided," said Anne Lalley, project coordinator. "And we certainly could not have done it without the help of Seacoast National Bank's sponsorship."

The 2005 School Supplies for Students Drive made back-to-school a little easier for 6,790 Martin County children. VCRC (now known as Martin Volunteers)  wrapped up its fifth year of leading the drive by delivering more than 38,000 items to Martin County schools. About 2,000 additional items were delivered to the Gertrude Walden Child Care Center, SafeSpace, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Martin County, the STOP Camp and the Martin County Sheriff’s Office Juvenile Offender Training Center.

All those items have to be collected, counted and sorted, and that’s where volunteers come in. “Volunteers devoted 148 hours of time under very hot conditions at the Martin County Fairgrounds so that each school would receive the supplies they requested,” said project coordinator Anne Lalley.

The 2004 drive delivered 35,000 school supply items for nearly 6,000 children, fulfilling all orders – and then some. A month after school started, VCRC (now known as Martin Volunteers) re-stocked hundreds of supplies for hurricane-ravaged Pinewood Elementary students. Also, in 2004, VCRC added United Way-affiliated child care centers to the mix, serving the Gertrude Walden Child Care Center and the Dunbar Center in Hobe Sound. The project engaged 33 volunteers in 350 hours of service.

The 2003 drive collected 22,000 supplies, serving more than 4,300 students. The numbers continue to rise as the public and educators become more aware of the drive.

The 2002 drive delivered 14,000 supplies to more than 2,800 area students.

In 2001, the first year of the drive, 19 percent of the requests were fulfilled.