The City of Charleston is holding a drive to collect school supplies to be given to children who attend the First Day Festival on August 18, 2013. Each year, thousands of children and their parents attend the First Day Festival and receive a bag of free school supplies, which helps prepare the children for the new school year. The goal of the School Supply Drive is to ensure that students start school with the supplies they need to participate fully in the learning process. The school supply drive is already underway and supplies must be collected by August 7th.
The school supplies needed most are: pencils, 12” rulers, pens, colored pencils, wide-ruled filler paper, hand sanitizer, wide-ruled composition books, tissues (travel/pocket size), two-pocket folders, scissors, markers, erasers, crayons, and glue.
Anyone who wishes to donate supplies can drop them into the First Day Festival collection bins located at:• The following City of Charleston Recreation Facilities:
o Bees Ferry Landing- 1590 Ashley Gardens Blvd.o James Island Recreation Complex- 1088 Quail Drive
o Charleston Tennis Center- 19 Farmfield Avenueo Daniel Island Recreation Facility- 235 Seven Farms Drive
• The following City of Charleston Fire Stations:o 1 Nicholson Drive, West Ashley
o 46 ½ Wentworth Street, downtown Charleston• Charleston County School District Building- 75 Calhoun Street
• Charleston County Government Building- 4045 Bridge View Drive• Trask and Howell, LLC- 763 Johnnie Dodds Blvd
Amy Schlepphorst, First Day Festival Event Coordinator said, “Without the support from the local community, many children would begin the school year without supplies essential to their learning, such as pencils and paper. This weekend, school supplies can be purchased tax-free, so we encourage people to pick up some extra supplies to donate to our children in need.”
Volunteers are also needed to sort school supplies and pack the backpacks prior to the First Day Festival and to hand out the backpacks during the festival. Those interested in volunteering should contact the Mayor’s Office for Children, Youth and Families by phone (843) 965-4190 or email schlepphorsta@charleston-sc.gov.
The City of Charleston since 2003 has sponsored the annual First Day Festival, part of a national campaign to generate widespread community support for schools, excitement about the beginning of another school year and to celebrate education. The success of the First Day Initiative is the result of collaborative partnerships and extraordinary community support, which allows the City to host this event at no cost to families and children.