For many families, the first day of school is very exciting. Kids start the year with new clothes and shoes plus a backpack filled with everything on the school supply list. Unfortunately, there are many families who struggle to afford the supplies their kids need. That’s where TDS, and many organizations across the country, step in to help.
For nearly a dozen years, TDS’ Community Outreach group has been hosting an annual drive to collect school supplies for students in the Madison, Wis. area. This year, hundreds of items—pencils, notebooks, backpacks, folders, markers, new boxes of crayons, and more—were collected. Stephens Elementary School and the Madison Area School District’s TEP program received the supplies. Check out all the photos.
“It was such a great feeling to walk in with boxes of notebooks, backpacks, pens, pencils and many other supplies kids need for school,” said Stephanie Aker, Community Outreach volunteer coordinator and Consumer Specialist at TDS. “The recipients were absolutely overwhelmed by the generosity shown by TDS. Thank you to everyone who donates school supplies—you’re really making a difference!”
How great is the need for back to school supplies? According to the Kids In Need Foundation, more than 2.4 million students and 100,000 teachers nationally received free school supplies in 2012.
