Summer back-to-school supply drives serve students in need

With Wisconsin students heading back to class, organizations around the state have been working to make sure kids have all the school supplies they need no matter their families’ financial circumstances.

Groups hosted summer school supply drives, and have been holding back-to-school celebrations to hand out backpacks packed with donated supplies.

In Madison, Kerri Fabin and her 14-year-old son volunteered for an annual back-to-school block party Aug. 22, hosted by the nonprofit Wisconsin Youth Company. They handed out over 400 backpacks with supplies to families with elementary and middle schoolers.

“Last year, I would ask what they wanted, and he’d be the runner.” Fabin said. “This year we had so many more people. We had to just split up.” 

Fabin said some kids took their backpack choice very seriously. 

“Some kids just want a plain black one,” she said. “Or…it has to have red, because that’s their favorite color or maybe it’s because of the Badgers.”

Along with the backpacks, the event had a climbing wall, face painting, a DJ and constant basketball games, Fabin said. 

Organizer Regan Kregness said the community stepped up to gather school supplies for the block party this year. 

“I think people really see the need with everything else on store shelves going up, school supplies are going up as well,” said Kregness, development director at Wisconsin Youth Company. “There is definitely an increase in need.” 

This summer, American families planned to spend $874.68 on average on school supplies, clothing, shoes and electronics, according to an annual survey from the National Retail Federation, or NRF, and Prosper Insights & Analytics. It’s the second-highest amount in the survey’s history. 

“Back to school and college spending is — after the winter holidays — one of the biggest spending occasions for both consumers and retailers,” said Katherine Cullen, NRF vice president of industry and consumer insights, in an association webinar in July.

Such spending has picked up since the pandemic, she added.

About half of back-to-school shoppers planned to shop at a discount store, the survey found. 

“(Inflation) remains a key issue for household minds, they have to be more selective.” said NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz in the same webinar.

To combat the costs for families in need, Project Fresh Start in Portage County typically distributes more than $30,000 worth of supplies to students who qualify for federally free and reduced lunch, said Stephany Nellessen Zeyadeh, community engagement coordinator for United Way of Portage County. 

She said she saw a huge jump in numbers of students registering for the event this year.

“We suspect it’s due to rising costs in basic needs like rent, childcare, and groceries, in our community,” Zeyadeh said.

Such events often offer resources in addition to school supplies. 

On Aug. 22, Boys & Girls Clubs in Dane County hosted open houses to distribute school supplies and share resources. 

“Everyone deserves to go into the school year feeling prepared and ready to learn,” said Lindsay Broms, Senior Vice President of Development at Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County. More than 900 families with kindergarten through high school aged students attended, she said. 

Along with distributing supplies, staffers shared information about youth programs such as their “Workforce Center” trade skills trainings. 

At an Aug. 26 resources fair in Grant County, back-to-school organizers provided haircuts and school vaccinations along with supplies. 

“People in our counties are going through a lot,” said Ben Biddick of Unified Community Services, which shared resources at the event. “For people who have very little time and very little energy, it’s nice to assemble it all in one place.”

Back at the block party in Madison, volunteer Fabin was down to about six backpacks near the end of the event. Once those were gone, they’d given out a record number.

“I have a feeling that we’ll always run out.”  Fabin said. “There’ll always be a need for more.”