School time!

 

As a mother of four (and grandmother of 6!),  I know all too well how stressful this time of year is for parents—school clothing, school supplies, sports fees, school pictures and book orders, backpacks and shoes—the list is endless! Our family was not low income, but it still put a huge dent in our budget and made September a hard, hard month.

This is why I love the Bellingham School District for their policy of providing supplies and fees to all children. Check out their reasoning here: https://bellinghamschools.org/sites/default/files/district/documents/SchoolSupplyFlyer.pdf

Would that more school districts would adopt this policy! At Hope House, it helps us to focus on those children who attend County schools that don’t provide these supplies. Trust me, I picked up their supply lists and they are incredibly long, filled with items like Dry Erase markers, reams of computer paper, and $100 calculators. Really? What exactly is the school providing?

If you would like to help support those families who are hurting this time of year, we can use the following to help our families make the first day of school special for their children:

·         New underwear and socks for all ages.

·         New and very gently used backpacks for children and teens.

·         School supplies of all kinds.

·         If you are so inclined, new shoes of various sizes, or “hoodies” and jackets.

Try to think back to your first day of school each fall: new clothes, squeaky new shoes, fresh paper and pencils, a new box of crayons. Let’s make the first of day school special for all of our area children!