School supplies....I just saw a report on channel 4 St Louis

[ikojo]

news..there is an organization called KidSmart that collects school supplies for kids whose families cannot afford them. It ticks me off that in this, the richest country on the globe, there must be collections so that kids can have school supplies! I am glad such organizations exist but oy vey, why do people tolerate such inequality?

If these kids' families cannot afford supplies, what do people think they do for food during the summer?

Do they have school supply collections where you live?

When I was a kid I lo

[Broken_Hero]

1. no school supply drive

but numerous food drives...I'm a sub teacher way down in SW Missouri, and the teachers usually pay outta pocket to help needy kids with their school supplies...I have had to do that myself...show up, with a bag full of paper, pens, folders...because after my "first" sub job, I knew it would be wise to bring extra supplies...

[Gormy Cuss]

2. Yes, and there are adopt a classroom programs too.

A few years back I was working on a project in public schools and as part of it we had kids fill out some forms. The first thing we learned was that many kids came to class without any pencils or pens. We made sure all the project staff had boxes of cheap pens.

The second thing we learned is that the kids acted like it was their lucky day when we told them they could keep the pens at the end of the session.

That's how it is in underfunded public schools in California.

[ikojo]

3. To think California's education system was once the

envy of the country.

I assisted at a health fair today and the need just overwhelmed me. People came in for free backpacks filled with school supplies and a basic physical. Most did not have private health insurance. I remarked to someone from the company sponsoring the fair and said, "this is life in George Bush's America. So many needs but he says the economy is doing well." They were able to get only 50 physicals done.

One woman with two girls needing physicals decided she had to leave because they were on the bus and the last bus in that area was at 1PM and she knew they would not be done by then. I just wanted to cry. If I had a car and not a scooter, I'd have offered to take them home but that was not an option. I hope this woman was able to get school supplies for her kids.

[MissB]

4. Yes. And I always buy extras to donate.

It is easy this time of year to pick up a few extras when I'm shopping for my own kids. The limit on the super deals at most of the office supply stores is 5 items, and I usually only need 2. Buying a couple of more doesn't really make a difference to my budget.