FULL
BACKPACKS, Ready Kids
LOC AL ORG ANIZ AT IONS
HOS T SCHOOL SUPPLY DRIVE S
BY ADRANISHA STEPHENS
SCH OO L IS A LM O ST B AC K I N S E S S I O N. TH AT
M EANS T HAT YOU R K I DS MAY NE E D NE W CLOTH E S,
BACKPACKS A N D, O F CO U R S E , S C H O O L SU PPL I E S —
ALL TH E F R ESH PA P E R , FO L DE R S A ND PE N S TH E Y CA N
GET T HEIR HA N D S O N.

But not every family is fortunate enough
to be able to buy all the school supplies
needed at the beginning of the year. Fam-
ilies with children in elementary through
high school can spend an average of $685
on back-to-school supplies, including
electronics, clothing and shoes for their
growing brood, according to a recent sur-
vey from the National Retail Federation.

This is a significant reason why this
August, organizations such as The Need-
iest Kids program, United Way of Central
Maryland and The Ronald McDonald
House Charities of Greater Washington
D.C. will host fun back-to-school events
throughout the region to help children
in challenged neighborhoods start the
school year right.

Each organization has its specialized
mission, with supplies to spare.

The Neediest Kids program in Bethesda,
which is an entity of National Center for
20 WashingtonFAMILY AUGUST 2019
Children’s and Families, aims to provide
resources to students across Maryland,
D.C. and Virginia, says program director
Jermaine Lemons. On average, it serves
40,000 students, he says.

“This is something that has been
around for 40 years. We work with nine
local school districts, and we help the
homeless and economically disadvantaged
students in those districts receive some
of the basic necessities that they need to
thrive,” he says. “Anything a child needs
to focus and stay in school — we try to
remove that barrier.”
In addition to school supplies, children
can receive haircuts, new clothing, school
uniforms, an eye examination and eye-
glasses, personal care items and bedding,
among other services. Volunteers help fill
backpacks with school supplies and dis-
tribute them to young students who are
eager to learn, he adds.




COURTESY OF GETTY IMAGES
“Everything is done discreetly. We
mostly work with social workers and pupil
personnel workers inside the schools to
pass along the vouchers to the students,”
he says. “We are all about making sure that
the family who needs this service is not
singled out.”
Beth Littrell, who has been with United
Way in Maryland for six years as the assis-
tant director of community relations and
volunteerism, also agrees that school
supply drives are needed.

“We have done this for the past six
years and it has grown into something
quite enormous, which is a good thing,”
Littrell says. “Last year, we had about 35
drives that we ran. We collect the school
supplies through different outlets. One
is we have a lot of corporate partners.

I reach out to them to say hey, we need
school supplies, here are the supplies
we need, who is interested in running
a drive? We have partners who will put
things in their lobbies, or internally to
gather donations.”
Another way to collect school supplies
is through the schools and online regis-
tries, Littrell adds.

“Last year, we even had some high
school kids who wanted to run a drive
through their school. In addition to that,
we have added a component where people
can do an online registry, where people
can go out and get supplies. They can
order straight to our site, and those items
get shipped directly to us. Right now, we
have a registry set up at Target, she says.

Last year, the United Way gave out sup-
plies to 1,200 students. Volunteers drove a
colorful back-to-school shuttle around the
city to pick up supplies from organizations
participating in the drive, including Under
Armour, Miles & Stockbridge, T. Rowe
Price and Johns Hopkins Medicine. And
they hope to provide just as many back-
packs to students this year, Littrell says.

“With the backpack drives in particu-
lar, there is nothing cuter than seeing a kid
get a brand new backpack full of supplies,
throwing it over their shoulder and just
seeing them so excited,” she says. “You
wouldn’t think that something that small
would be a big impact, but it is.”
The organization also hosts back-to-
school giveaways in Baltimore City and
Anne Arundel, Baltimore County, Carroll,
Harford and Howard counties.

The Ronald McDonald House’s school
supply drives are one of the most popular
ways to mobilize a community and help
students in need, says Sarah Quillen, vice
president of development and marketing.

The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile/
KIDS Mobile Medical Clinic provides
free healthcare to children in D.C.

Wards 4 to 8. The second Care Mobile,
which was successfully piloted in D.C. in
2017, is home to the FITNESS (Fun in
Teaching Nutrition and Exercise to Suc-
cessful Students) program. What does
it do? It partners with schools across
D.C. to deliver a curriculum focusing
on healthy eating and the importance of
physical activity to students grades K-8,
Quillen says.

In addition to the mobiles backpack
drives, families can also receive food,
toiletry and toys from the organization’s
donation drives.

The Ronald McDonald Care Mobiles
currently serve 4,254 patients, with more
than 1,237 medical visits and has hosted
34 outreach events across the area.

And across the three core programs,
including housing for families in D.C. and
Virginia, approximately, 7785 children were
served in 2017, Quillen explains.

“We partner with MedStar George-
town University Hospital with the two
Care Mobiles, and they are the ones that
drive the 40-foot medical unit around
and come to schools. Over the summer,
they also go to community centers. They
park them there, and they serve where
the kids are, which is much more conve-
nient for them. We also do certain drives
through the houses, when children and
their families are staying with us.”
As for other ways, the community can
help? Some options include donating
time, supplies and vehicles as well as par-
ticipating in a wish-list drive. Donations
can even be dropped off to either the D.C.

or Virginia house.

“What I enjoy most is raising money
and raising awareness for a stellar cause,”
she says. “The beauty of this organiza-
tion, especially in the D.C. area where
there are so many charities, is that we are
small but mighty. We have a small staff
and an army of volunteers that donate,
and I am always so honored and proud to
be a part of this effort and continue this
effort of helping families.” ■
R E ADY TO
D ONAT E ?
THE N E E DIE ST K IDS
PR OGR AM S UPPLY DR IVE
August 14 from 6-7 p.m.

Location: 6301 Greentree Road,
Bethesda, MD
“There is
nothing cuter
than seeing a
kid get a brand
new backpack
full of supplies,
throwing it over
their shoulder
and just seeing
them so excited.”
BETH LITTRELL
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY
RELATIONS AND VOLUNTEERISM,
UNITED WAY OF MARYLAND
WashingtonFAMILY.com 21