Parents and pupils shopping for school supplies can donate materials for needy Columbia County pupils Saturday at the county's two Wal-Mart locations.
Columbia County school buses will be parked outside the Evans Wal-Mart on Washington Road and the Martinez location on Bobby Jones Expressway from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. as part of the Stuff the Bus event sponsored by United Way of the CSRA.
"We've never done anything like this before, but it's a great opportunity for ... the community to help us with donated school supplies," said Karen Ribble, the school system's community relations coordinator.
Shoppers will find a list of needed school supplies in the Wal-Marts.
"We have a school supply list for (kindergarten) through (12th grade), so what we tried to do is just summarize all the grades for some generic items," Ribble said.
Though new school materials are needed at Saturday's event, Ribble said the Columbia County Foundation for Children and Julie's House will collect gently used items.
School social workers, adult volunteers and bus drivers will help collect and sort through the supplies, Ribble said.
School supplies collected from the Martinez location will be donated to United Way, while materials gathered from the Evans Wal-Mart will be stored for pupils needing the supplies, said Ribble, adding that she'd like to organize packages to hand out to those pupils.
"That would be the ideal thing that we have enough backpack and school supplies that we'd be able to at least have a pack for those kids at each of the schools," she said.
For information, call the school system at (706) 541-0650 or visit www.ccboe.net.
icon.