When she read a story in The Sunday Capital newspaper recently about the dire need for school supplies to assist needy students, Isabella “Bella” Stack asked her mother a simple question: How can a child be excited about going back to school if they don’t have all the supplies they need?
Bella and her mother talked about it for a while, and then the soon-to-be-fourth-grader at South Shore Elementary School asked another question: How can I help?
This week, Bella donated a bookbag full of supplies to the drive co-sponsored by Anne Arundel County Public Schools and the Anne Arundel County Department of Social Services, and this weekend she will lead a collection effort for even more supplies. Anyone wishing to drop off school supplies can do so from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, August 9, at South Shore Elementary, located at 1376 Fairfield Loop Road in Crownsville.
The Back-to-School program annually matches donors with local elementary schools to help provide back-to-school supplies to students who need them. Donors can purchase backpacks stocked with all the required materials, and then deliver the backpacks to the students’ respective schools, but drives such as the one Bella is leading also help tremendously.
Those who are unable to drop off items at South Shore can get more information on the program or arrange a donation by calling (410) 269-4461 or sending e-mail to tsteele@dhr.state.md.us.