United Way and AmeriHost Inn team up for annual School Supply Drive For Immediate Release July 27, 2005

Remember back to your days in elementary school. The teacher tells you to get a piece of paper and a pencil out of your desk. No problem, right? But these days it seems many students don’t have the supplies they need to complete their assignments. Not because they forgot them at home, but because they never had them in the first place. Maybe Mom or Dad never took them to the store to get supplies. Or maybe Mom or Dad couldn’t afford them. It happens more than you might think in area schools. So for the eighth straight year, United Way is conducting its annual School Supply Drive on the first two weekends of August. Like last year, those who make a donation will receive a $20 discount coupon to be used on a future stay at the Marysville AmeriHost Inn. Volunteers from United Way, AmeriHost Inn, and CHUMS will be collecting school supplies outside five area stores. Here’s how it’s going to work. Shoppers will be presented with a list of needed supplies when entering the store. They’ll have the opportunity to purchase any of the items on the list while inside and can drop them in the provided drop-box on their way out. Supplies can also be dropped off at AmeriHost Inn (located at 16420 Allenby Drive in Marysville) or the United Way office (at 232 N. Main Street) in Marysville. Supplies will be sorted and distributed to all Union County elementary schools before the start of the year to be used at the discretion of school staff for children who don’t have essential items needed to complete school work. The schedule of drop-off locations include the following dates from 9:00 a.m. to Noon: Friday August 5 - Wal-Mart in Marysville Saturday August 6 - Big Lots, K-Mart, and Kroger in Marysville and Lovejoy’s Market in Plain City Saturday August 13 - Big Lots, K-Mart, Kroger, and Wal-Mart in Marysville and Lovejoy’s Market in Plain City The list of supplies being collected includes: #2 pencils; colored pencils; 24 or 48-count crayons; Hi-Liters; 8-count washable markers; wooden rulers; low-odor dry-erase markers; plain colored book bags; fiskar scissors; 1.5-inch 3-ring binders; 4-ounce bottles of Elmer’s Glue; glue sticks; large boxes of tissues; 3x5-inch lined index cards; gallon, quart, and sandwich sized boxes of zip-lock bags; 3x3 Post-it Notes; wide-ruled composition book; wide-ruled notebook paper, wide-ruled spiral notebooks, and erasers. Schools that will benefit from the Drive include: Creekview Intermediate, East Elementary, Edgewood Elementary, Mill Valley Elementary, Navin Elementary, and Raymond Elementary in the Marysville Exempted Village School District; Fairbanks Elementary in the Fairbanks Local School District; North Union Elementary in the North Union Local School District; and Plain City Elementary in the Jonathan Alder Local School District. Supplies will also be provided to the Union County Department of Job and Family Services. Those in need of school supplies are asked to contact their school’s guidance counselor at the beginning of the school year.

For more information, please contact the United Way of Union County at 644-8381 or by e-mail at unitedwayuc2@imetweb.net.