Program puts school items into students’ hands

Spokane Valley Partners is trying to help low-income students be more prepared on their first day of school by collecting donations of basic school supplies.

The organization’s Smart Start Supply Program aims to help between 1,200 and 1,300 students this year, said Sharon Hengy, program director at Spokane Valley Partners.

Distribution will begin Aug. 15.

Each student will receive a backpack filled with grade-appropriate basic supplies, including spiral notebooks, pens and pencils, crayons and glue.

Hengy said the hardest supplies to come by usually are scissors, pink erasers, three-ring binders and pencil pouches.

Families must attend a Spokane Valley Partners life-skills class to preregister for the program.

Class topics include parenting, relationships, money management, fighting germs, children’s health and how to help children succeed in school. The classes are kid-friendly, so families can take them together. They are open to the general public as well.

Last year, the addition of the life-skills classes seemed to deter families, and only 1,150 kids registered for the supply program, Hengy said.

“But we had great feedback on the classes from last year,” she said.

The supply program is open to families with students who qualify for free or reduced lunches in the West Valley, Central Valley, East Valley and Freeman school districts.

The program will hold a volunteer night Aug. 12 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. to sort the supplies and get them ready for distribution.

It is an opportunity for families to volunteer together, said Hengy. Last year, about 20 families volunteered, gathering for pizza before unwrapping supplies and organizing them.

Donations can be dropped off at the Spokane Valley Partners office, 10814 E. Broadway Ave., Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. or in collection barrels outside Spokane Valley Fire Department stations and Vera Water and Power.