Foundations growing for school support

Frontiersman

MAT-SU — With the new school year just around the corner and prices of back-to-school supplies on the rise, shopping for the young students can be a difficult venture for some families.

From now until Sept. 12, the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman is holding its fifth annual Foundations for the Future campaign, aimed at supplying Mat-Su Borough School District elementary school students in need with the appropriate school supplies to succeed.

This year, Wal-Mart has teamed up with the Frontiersman by placing specially marked drop-off bins inside its Wasilla store by the main entrances.

Tracy Ressler, business manager at the Frontiersman and key organizer of Foundations for the Future, said the school supplies program started as a community service project in 2004 and has grown each year since.

“It was something we developed internally where we wanted an event that we could do every year that would have a significant impact on the community,” Ressler said.

Last year, Foundations for the Future collected a large haul of community donations, including more than 1,500 pencils, 550 three-ring binders, 450 eraser tops, 200 boxes of crayons, 330 folders and 230 glue sticks. Eagle Scout Alexander Deedy earned his badge by gathering more than 200 pairs of new shoes for the cause as well.

This year, Ressler said donations are expected to be even higher with the addition of the new drop-off bins at Wal-Mart.

Aaron King, co-manager of Wal-Mart in Wasilla, said he found out about Foundations of the Future through word of mouth talking with area school teachers. After taking the idea back to Wal-Mart management, the local Superstore jumped on board.

“It’s a program that we felt was beneficial to school families, and when this year’s school year rolls around, we wanted to get involved,” King said.

For its first year of involvement, King said Wal-Mart in Wasilla will put out two large bins for shoppers to drop school items into.

After all the supplies are collected and tallied, organizers distribute them to participating school principals, nurses and staff where children are then picked to receive the supplies based on a projected need basis.

“The principals are usually aware of which students are in need,” Ressler said. “It’s heartening because they know the students by their first names and know what students are in need.”

Ressler said only MSBSD elementary schools are involved with Foundations for the Future at this time. In the district last year, 18 elementary schools participated in Foundations for the Future, accepting donations from six local businesses and the general public.

Donations are also accepted at the Frontiersman newspaper business office, 5751 E. Mayflower Court in Wasilla.

The following items will be accepted as donations for the 2008-09 school year: glue sticks, No. 2 pencils, color pencils, erasers, water-soluble markers, small pencil boxes, backpacks, scissors, two-pocket folders, crayons, pencil sharpeners, spiral notebooks, watercolor paints, tissues, rulers, three-ring binders, loose notebook paper and blue or black ink pens.

For more information, contact Ressler at 352-2263.