School Supply Collection Drive In Harford County

From Harford County Education Foundation: Each year educators spend hundreds of dollars of their own money to provide school supplies for students who are unable to afford basic learning materials. For the past thirteen years, local businesses, educational institutions, and civic organizations have partnered with Harford County Education Foundation by collecting much needed supplies through its Stuff the Bus Campaign. Donated school supplies are picked up from businesses, then sorted, counted, packed and delivered to Harford County Public Schools for students in need before the first day of school.

“Helping a child start off on the right foot on day one builds their self-esteem and assists in their learning process,” said Warren Hamilton, Education Foundation Board Chair. School supplies are also used to stock the Education Foundation’s Tools for Schools Resource Center. The Tools for Schools Resource Center is located in Bel Air, where teachers from Harford County Public Schools shop, free of charge, for school supplies for their economically challenged students.

“Who knows better than teachers what supplies their students require to succeed?” asked Deb Merlock, President of Harford County Education Foundation. “We are the year-round resource in providing school supplies to students in need. The number of students that live in poverty and are even homeless in the district is staggering and it is vitally important to equip these students with the resources they need to participate in learning.” By donating to a centralized resource center, Harford County Education Foundation is able to maximize the number of students served by allocating resources based on need. It is by this method that the Resource Center can ensure each child is provided the right school supplies, and that no child in need is turned away due to a shortage of resources.

Items needed for the Stuff the Bus campaign includes:
 Pencils (regular and colored), Pens, Markers (washable and dry erase)
 Crayons, Highlighters
 Blunt edge scissors, Protractors, Compasses, Erasers
 Glue sticks and white glue bottles
 Loose leaf paper, Index cards, Composition notebooks
 Two-pocket folders, 1 1/2" and 3” binders, Binder Dividers
 Zippered pencil pouches (including binder pencil pouches), Plastic pencil cases
 Backpacks
 USB drives, Graphing calculators
 Plastic zip storage bags (quart and gallon size)
 Tissues, Hand sanitizer
Collection sites for Stuff the Bus donations are located in the following Harford County
businesses through September 17.
 A. Bright Idea
 Advanced Eye Care
 APG Federal Credit Union
 Aruba Sun & Spa
 BB&T Bank - Edgewood and Bel Air Branch

 Beacon Staffing

 Bel Air Athletic Club
 Bel Air Orthodontics
 Bright Oaks Pediatric Center
 Celebree Learning Center – Laurel Bush
 Coffee Coffee
 Cummings & Co. Realtors
 Drayer Physical Therapy
 Edward Jones - Havre de Grace and Aberdeen Offices
 Express Employment Professionals
 First National Bank
 Freedom Federal Credit Union
 Gold Medal Physical Therapy
 HarCo Credit Union
 Harford Bank
 Harford County Chamber of Commerce
 Harford County Department of Emergency Services
 Harford County Government Administration Offices
 Harford County Public Library
 Harford County Public Schools - AA Roberty Bldg
 Harford County Senior Activity Centers – Edgewood, Veronica “Roni Chenowith”,
Havre de Grace, and McFaul.
 Harford Mutual Insurance Company
 Howard Bank
 Jones Junction
 Kelly's Hair Design
 Kleins/ShopRite – Main Street
 New Destiny Church
 Paramount Die Company
 Planet Fitness
 PNC Bank - Bel Air South
 Point Breeze Credit Union
 Raytheon
 Sunny Day Café
 The Arena Club
 TIC Gums
 Towson University – Northeastern

 WAVE - Armstrong Ceilings
 Weyrich, Cronin and Sorra, CPA
 Y Ward Family Center

School supply donations can also be made directly to Harford County Education Foundation by
emailing connect@harfordeducation.org. Monetary donations are accepted at www.harfordeducation.org/donations. Harford County Education Foundation donated over $30,000 in school supplies to Harford County classrooms this past school year, and since its formation in 2004, has also awarded more than $140,000 in college scholarships to deserving students. In addition to scholarships and supplies, the Education Foundation offers other valuable resources for the county’s 37,000 students such as the LEAD for Tomorrow high school leadership program; Books in Hand Summer Learning Program; TECH Tools, Classroom Innovation Grants, and Educator Recognition. For more information about Harford County Education Foundation, visit www.harfordeducation.org.

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