Rhode Island State Police Holding School Supply, Backpack Drive

The Rhode Island State Police are once again collecting school supplies to help families in need. State, local and federal law enforcement agencies come together each year to gather supplies for the Kids, Cops and Classrooms campaign.

Donations can be dropped off at state police barracks, the Rhode Island Police Chiefs’ Association, Attorney General Peter Neronha's office, the office of the U.S. Attorney in Rhode Island, local police departments and more.

"With communities facing increasingly tighter budgets, families are being asked to provide more school supplies for their children and their classrooms than ever before, which poses a tremendous financial burden on families struggling just to make ends meet," said Rhode Island State Police Major Christopher Dicomitis, who’s leading this year's campaign. "We hope the backpacks and supplies we collect through this program will help ease some of this burden for many of these families, while providing children with the school supplies they need to succeed."

The campaign serves two purposes: helping ease the strain of back-to-school expenses while fostering a good relationship between police and the community.

Donations will be distributed to Crossroads Rhode Island, the Family Service of Rhode Island, Project Night Vision, Children’s Friend, the Hispanic Ministerial Association of Rhode Island, Multi-Service Center for All, African Alliance, Mount Hope Neighborhood Association, Chad Brown Alumni Association and the Center for Southeast Asians.

Police are asking for the following items:

• Backpacks – small, medium and large
• #2 pencils
• Pens
• Pencil box
• Box of crayons
• Spiral notebooks
• 3-Ring binder (1, 1 ½, 2 inches)
• Subject dividers
• Book Covers
• Index cards
• Pencil sharpener
• Assignment book/weekly planner
• Ruler (marked in inches and centimeters)
• Protractor
• Compass
• Scientific calculator
• Calculator
• Dictionary (pocket size)
• Thesaurus (pocket size)
• Mini-stapler and staples
• USB Flash Drive
• Facial tissues
• Antibacterial hand sanitizer
• Box of colored pencils
• Box of washable markers
• Highlighters
• Water color paint set
• Pad of coloring paper
• Large pink erasers
• Glue sticks
• Bottle of glue (Elmer’s type)
• Safety scissors
• Two-pocket folders
• Composition book
• Wide-rule loose-leaf paper
• Graph paper