In less than two weeks, Combined Community Services will be giving away school supplies through its Tools For School program to students to help them get the school year started right. The program provides school supplies for Kosciusko County students who might otherwise start the new school year without them. In its 22nd year, it will be from 9 a.m. to about 4 p.m. Aug. 3 at the Home & Family Arts Building at the Kosciusko Fairgrounds. CCS Director of Client Assistance Peggi Lisenbee-Wright, “We also give out at CCS the following days for a couple of weeks. And we try to give kids a good start to the school year.” When the program first started, she said they serviced about 300 kids and were able to make sure they had enough school supplies for the entire year. Now, with almost 1,500 kids serviced on the first day of Tools For School and money and supplies limited, the program aims to help get school year started off for the students on a good note. CCS is still collecting items for Tools For School. While all school supplies may be donated, there is a need for the more expensive items like backpacks, three-ring binders and flash drives. Supplies can be dropped off at CCS until Aug. 2. Monetary donations also are being accepted, and if a person writes a check they should put “Tools For School” in the memo line. The success of the program each year, Lisenbee-Wright said, is due in part to Tools For School coordinator Ami Pitt and many community members. The “big” volunteers this year are Fiesta, which has done student haircuts for a number of years; Warsaw Community Schools Food Service, which will be providing breakfast for the third consecutive year; Kosciusko REMC and Sogeti, who will have volunteers manning the program Aug. 3. The biggest funders for Tools For School, she said, are Meijer, who helps to make sure the program has the supplies needed; Medtronic, which collects supplies and money; YMCA, which collects supplies; and private individuals. Lisenbee-Wright said donations are still needed. During the event Aug. 3, she said there will be at least a dozen agencies on hand with booths to provide the community with information about the services they offer. Some of the agencies will include CCS’ Hand Up, Project Independence; Pastor Josh Light, Warsaw Wesleyan, with its Awanas and children’s programs; and Kyle Lowe with Brightpoint. If any community organization would still like to be represented at the event, a representative can call Lisenbee-Wright at 574-269-6019, Ext. 222. Any student in kindergarten to 12th grade in Kosciusko County can receive school supplies. “We ask parents to bring some sort of proof that the children are theirs, as in a school registration printout,” Lisenbee-Wright said. “Grandparents and childcare providers are more than welcome, but we will need all information of the parent – birthdates, addresses, first and last name of the parents when they register the children.” She said they’re expecting the same number of students this year as last year, which was 1,474. “We do work with other places that give out school supplies like schools and things. There are no big programs like ours. We are the biggest,” Lisenbee-Wright said. She said she was grateful to the community coming together for the event to help kids in economically challenged families. “Poverty affects kids the most. We just want to give them a fair start,” she said.
