Agency In Need Of School Supplies

With the first day of school less than a month away, the Charles County Children's Aid Society has been inundated with calls from parents seeking school supplies.

The agency usually provides about 1,000 children with supplies each school year. But Maria Bryan, the society's executive director, said that with the recent downturn in the economy, she has been receiving a record numbers of calls.

"We're getting families who normally wouldn't sign up for supplies, but with the recession, they just aren't making ends meet," Bryan said. "What is happening in the economy is really affecting people. . . . Yesterday, we had so many calls and not enough volunteers to answer them, we had to shut the phones off."

Bryan said that school supplies can cost from $35 to $75 per child, adding up to be a financial hardship for many families, especially those with three or four school-age children. High school students' supplies tend to cost the most, because they often need binders for each subject, calculators and heavy-duty backpacks.

The goal of the supply drive is for all students to begin on equal ground the first day of school, Bryan said.

"On day one, they are not going to be behind because their parents can't afford the supplies," she said. "We really want to alleviate the burden on families."

To meet the heightened demand, the Children's Aid Society is seeking donations from the community. Although cash donations are accepted, donations of supplies are preferred because volunteers often do not have time to shop for supplies.

The Children's Aid Society also provides emergency assistance to about 10,000 children and families each year. That assistance includes food, clothing and personal-care items, as well as providing money for shelter, utilities, medical needs, rent or mortgage payments, fuel bills, transportation costs and burial expenses. The agency has been organizing the annual supply drive for about 20 years.

Donations can be dropped off at the Children's Aid Society, at 3000 Huntington Circle in Waldorf; or at the Century 21 New Millennium office, at 9405 Chesapeake St. in La Plata.

All supplies are welcome, but the agency "desperately needs" one- and two-inch binders, book covers, calculators, composition books, highlighters, pencil bags, protractors, report covers, rulers and tape, Bryan said.

The agency will begin distributing the supplies Aug. 18 and will continue until Sept. 5, when most students have settled into their classrooms.

To arrange to pick up supplies, parents should call the Children's Aid Society at 301-645-1561 or send an e-mail to childrensaid@verizon.net.