Sheriff’s Foundation helps York County students be ‘classroom ready’
York County schools got a little help Friday for the new academic year from the Sheriff’s Foundation of York County, which donated nearly 300 backpacks and 300 school supply kits.
This is the third year of “Operation Backup,” which provides school supplies to York County schools, and the schools then gives the backpacks and supplies to students or families in need.
“The first year we had it, we came out here with bags and bags full of random school supplies the school districts needed,” York County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Trent Faris said. “But after it was all said and done, they said the one thing they lacked was backpacks.”
This year, the Sheriff’s Foundation purchased 288 backpacks and 288 school supply kits, which were divvied up between the York, Rock Hill, Fort Mill and Clover school districts.
“The Fort Mill school district is grateful to the Sheriff’s Foundation of York County for their continued support in supplying school supplies for students in need,” said Kelly McKinney, a spokeswoman for Fort Mill schools. “We feel it is important for every child to feel ‘classroom ready’ day one and throughout the entire school year. This donation, coupled with the generosity of our community, further supports this effort districtwide.”
The Sheriff’s Foundation is a nonprofit organization, and most of the money raised through fundraisers goes to local schools, Faris said. The foundation has given out $77,000 in scholarships to York County students and more than $11,000 in school supplies.
Teddy Kulmala: 803-329-4082, @teddy_kulmala
The Herald’s School Supply Drive
Needed school supplies
Three-ring binders, including 1-inch, 2-inch, 3-inch or 5-inch
backpacks
non-sticky book covers
Clorox or Lysol wipes
colored pencils
construction paper
crayons
dividers
dry erase markers
facial tissue
flash drive
folders with prongs
glue sticks
liquid glue
graph paper
hand sanitizer
handheld pencil sharpeners
highlighters
index cards
ink pens
loose-leaf notebook paper, both college ruled and wide ruled
Lysol
marble composition notebooks
markers
clear page protectors
pencil pouch or box
pencils
Post-it notes
ruler
scissors, both blunt and pointed
black sharpie markers
spiral notebooks
staples
tape
white copy paper
quart and gallon zip-lock bags
Where to give
Drop-off locations for school supplies
Rock Hill: Rock Hill schools district office, 660 N. Anderson Road, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday.
Fort Mill: Fort Mill school district office, 2233 Deerfield Drive; Doby’s Bridge Elementary School, 1000 Dragon Way; Tega Cay Elementary School, 2185 Gold Hill Road; 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Thursday.
Clover: Clover school district office, 604 Bethel St., 8 a.m.-4 p.m.; Clover Community Bank, 124 Old N. Main St., 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; Clover Community Bank-Lake Wylie, 5196 Charlotte Highway, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
York: York District Office, 1475 E. Liberty St.
Lancaster: Lancaster School District, 300 S. Catawba St.; U.S. Postal Service, Main Street, Lancaster; Food Lion stores on North Main Street and Airport Crossroads; and Southern States Chiropractic, 106A N. Woodland Drive, Lancaster.
Where to send money
Make checks payable to these organizations and write “school supplies” in the memo line:
Rock Hill Schools Education Foundation, P.O. Box 12286, Rock Hill, SC 29731, or drop off from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Thursday at Rock Hill Schools Administrative Office, 660 N. Anderson Road, Rock Hill.
Foundation for Fort Mill Schools, online at ffms.org or mail checks to the foundation at P.O Box 476, Fort Mill, SC 29716. Contributions in excess of the amount needed for school supplies will be used for field trip scholarships.
Clover School District, 604 Bethel St., Clover, SC 29710.
York School District One, 1475 E. Liberty St., York, SC 29745.
Communities in Schools, Lancaster, P.O. Box 3241, Lancaster, SC 29721.
This story was originally published August 7, 2015 at 7:18 PM with the headline "Sheriff’s Foundation helps York County students be ‘classroom ready’."