First Day project hopes to prepare all for school year

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By Christina McNamara | Friday, July 14, 2006 12:12 AM CDT | () comments

Shopping for a new backpack, notebooks, colored pencils and other school supplies often gets youngsters in the mood and mind-set to return to school in the fall.

It’s a yearly ritual for some students. But those whose parents cannot afford the supplies do not have to go back to school unprepared.

The First Day Project, a community-wide effort to provide Quad-City area students with the supplies they need to succeed, begins this weekend. It involves the U.S. Postal Service and combines numerous school supply drives previously held by the individual school districts.

If you would like to help make sure all area students are ready to learn when the first bell rings, simply purchase some school supplies, put them by your mailbox and letter carriers will pick them up for distribution to kids in need.

Saturday is the day to set out the supplies if you live in East Moline, Rock Island, Colona, Milan and Silvis, Ill.

If you live in Coal Valley, Ill., Moline, Bettendorf, Davenport, Pleasant Valley, Blue Grass, Buffalo, LeClaire or Walcott, Iowa, your collection date is Aug. 5, which is also a Saturday.

Last year, the Davenport School District alone collected more than 75,000 items, and district communications director Karen Farley said giving students supplies they can call their own boosts self-esteem.

“It’s very discouraging for students to come to school and not have the tools they need to do the job. They don’t feel as prepared to be successful,” she said.

Students and their families do not need to apply for the program. Farley said those who may be in need are identified through the school district’s list of students who qualify for free and reduced-price lunches.

“That can be up to 100 kids in a building. And we use everything we get. Last year, we were able to help Katrina schools and send some of our inventory down there,” she said, referring to Gulf Coast areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Donating supplies also helps take the burden off teachers and individual schools, said Deb Miller, the principal of Fillmore Elementary in Davenport.

“If the kids were not supported by this, teachers and the schools would have to pick up a lot of the need, and that’s increasingly hard with the budget restraints we’re under,” she said.

Contact the city desk at (563) 383-2245 or newsroom@qctimes.com.

WHAT IS NEEDED

Items needed for the First Day Project include: paper, pens, facial tissues, backpacks, spiral notebooks, crayons, pencil boxes, dry-erase markers, colored pencils, regular pencils, scissors, watercolor paints, pocket folders, glue sticks, erasers, washable makers and composition notebooks. Checks also are accepted as a way of making a donation. They may be sent in care of : The Community Foundation of the Great River Bend, 111 E 3rd St., Suite 710, Davenport, IA, 52801. Monetary donations can be designated for a particular school district if so noted on the check.