By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
With the start of the school year comes the renewed need to keep kids nourished, stocked with supplies, clothed and clean.
At last week’s school board meeting, Bowling Green Board of Education member Ginny Stewart thanked the community for its continued generosity to meet students’ basic needs. She reported on the items that administrators at each school building listed as most needed by students.
Food service
- Donations are needed to fill the gap for weekend meals. The meal boxes could use items such as meat and cheese sticks, and fruit cups.
- Some families don’t meet the criteria for free lunches, but still have difficulty affording lunches. So donations are being accepted to pick up the bills for unpaid lunches. Those donations can be sent to the individual schools or the central office.
- Snacks continue to be a “recurring theme,” Stewart said. “Every building needs snacks.” They must be individually wrapped and contain no nuts. Suggestions include Goldfish crackers, fruit snacks and multi-grain bars.
Hygiene items
- “Bobcat Basics” items needed at the middle school and high school include deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and shampoo. Both schools also need reusable water bottles – the kind without straws.
Clothing
- All schools need ponchos, raincoats and umbrellas. As fall and winter weather approach, students will need warm clothing, jackets, socks and hats. Those will be “discreetly given to the students,” Stewart said.
Middle school
- Trapper keepers, which are ringed binders that help students stay organized, are needed. The 3-inch rings are preferable, board member Tracy Hovest said. Some students can’t afford these binders, which range in cost from $15 to $40, Stewart said.
Conneaut Elementary
- Snacks and water bottles are needed.
Kenwood Elementary
- Snacks, headphones, noise canceling headphones, and dry erase markers are needed.
Crim Elementary
- Snacks and scholarship money to help students participate in Bobcat sports programs are needed.
Stewart also reported that area residents continue to help out by donating to the “Give Back to Local Students” boxes at Staples stores.
“I want to thank the entire community for paying it forward. These are the real supplies the kids need,” she said.
