Clover linking school supply drive to celebration
The Clover School District is planning a fun approach to distributing school supplies by holding a second annual back to school bash for the entire community.
“We really want to highlight our backpack distribution,” said attendance officer Marguerite Brown-Canty. “We are really looking to have a community-wide event. It’s for those in need absolutely, but it’s also an invitation for all students to come out.”
Instead of having the event on a Saturday morning, like last year, this year the fun kicks off at 5 p.m. Aug. 14 at Clover High School’s Memorial Stadium. The free event will be in conjunction with the Blue Eagles’ football scrimmage game at 7:30 p.m. against Hunter Huss. Concessions will be half price, and each school will have a tent to provide information and give out supplies.
“It’s going to be a great family fun night,” Brown-Canty said.
The Herald and its sister community newspapers – the Fort Mill Times, the Enquirer-Herald in York and Clover, and the Lake Wylie Pilot – are once again partnering with school districts in York and Lancaster counties to gather supplies for children from less fortunate families.
Clover students will pick up bookbags filled with supplies at their school’s booth and can meet school representatives.
“They are so excited when they receive a bookbag and meet teachers and principals,” she said. “They really feel special.”
Parents and students will be able to learn about resources and get information about transportation, Connected Classrooms and more, while having fun with activities such as face painting, games and snacks.
“It’s extremely important for our students,” Brown-Canty said of the school supply drive. “They really benefit from those donations. It makes sure they are prepared first day of school and carry on for a successful academic school year.”
Last year, she said, Clover schools distributed more than 500 bookbags with supplies, the most ever.
“We’ve always given supplies,” she said, “but not on the scale it is now.”
So far, donation drop-offs have been slow.
“We’re usually getting things by now,” she said.
Monetary donations also are needed, Brown-Canty said, because it helps “to purchase items we don’t have enough of.”
Paper and colored folders with pockets and prongs are among the items most needed, she said.
Catherine Muccigrosso: 803-831-8166, @LakeWyliePilot
Want to help?
Drop-off locations for school supplies:
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
Rock Hill: Rock Hill school district office, 660 N. Anderson Road, 8 a.m.-5 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 school district office, 1475 E. Liberty St.
Lancaster: Lancaster school district office, 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.
Needed school supplies
- Three-ring binder, 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 drives
- 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
- rulers
- scissors, both blunt and pointed
- black Sharpie markers
- spiral notebooks
- staples
- tape
- white copy paper
- quart and gallon zip-lock bags
Where to send money
Make checks payable to these organizations and write “school supplies” in the memo line:
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.
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.
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 July 29, 2015 at 6:40 PM with the headline "Clover linking school supply drive to celebration."