Evesham Township has once again partnered with the nonprofit Hands Uniting Generations (H.U.G.S.) for a second annual Backpack School Supply Drive that runs through Aug. 20.
The nonprofit was initiated by Evesham Police Chief Walt Miller’s son and daughter to help families in need. Miller talked about the goals of the collection drive, which resulted in more than 200 backpacks filled with school supplies to the district.
“(They founded the nonprofit) to connect different levels of age brackets in the community to support each other,” he explained. “(With the school drive) they’re trying to collect school supplies and backpacks for students in the school district that have a financial need.
“Last year, their efforts resulted in 211 fully stocked backpacks that they were able to donate to the school district,” Miller added.
Among collection partners is the Diversity Equal Opportunity Network Inc. (DEON), a nonprofit led by a diverse group of women dedicated to advocating for racial, social and economic equity in state public schools and the community at large. The nonprofit had a table set up to accept donations for the collection drive at this year’s National Night Out on Aug. 2.
In-person dropoff sites for the drive are at the Evesham municipal building on Tuckerton Road every weekday at any time. The Gibson House Community Center on Main Street will accept donations Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and the Evesham school district administration building on Maple Avenue will do so from Monday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Besides backpacks, supplies needed are three-ring binders, two notebooks each, a box of pencils, two wide-ruled loose leaf paper, a pair of scissors and a pack of index cards, a pencil bag, a small hand sanitizer,, a box of markers, a reusable water bottle, an eraser, box highlighters, three folders, one box of crayons, a Post-it pad, glue or glue stick and a ruler.
Cash donations are also accepted and will be used to purchase the above supplies. They can be made by visiting www.gofund.me/f9b4ec1e or contacting [email protected]
Miller expressed gratitude for the collection drive’s partners and all the donations already been dropped off by residents.
“We appreciate the community’s support,” he noted. “They say it takes a village to raise a child, and this is just another example of that.”
For more information, visit the township’s website at www.evesham-nj.org.
