United Way of South Mississippi partnered with the Picayune Walmart, Picayune School District, Poplarville School District and Pearl River County School District on Friday for their annual Fill the Bus campaign.
“We want to ensure that every child goes to school with the supplies that they need,” said Linda Steinhauser, director of Combined Federal Campaign with United Way of South Mississippi.
During July, the local Walmart has accepted school supply donations for students and teachers.
Donations will be evenly distributed to each school, said Steinhauser.
The organization began working with public schools to make sure all students had enough supplies, so they wouldn’t have to borrow from other students or teachers, said Steinhauser.
Donations also go toward helping teachers reduce the cost of supplies for their classrooms.
Darren Skipper, a manager of the Picayune Walmart, said there is a great need for these supplies because of budget constraints in schools.
Members of the Pearl River Central High School Blue Devils football team helped Walmart customers with their shopping carts to bring attention to the school drive.
The Picayune Memorial High School Maroon Tide Cheerleaders welcomed shoppers while handing out flyers and encouraged them to donate to the campaign.
Donations will still be accepted at the Picayune Walmart on Saturday, July 30.
Supplies that are most needed include:
• #2 pencils and erasers
• Crayons, colored pencils and markers
• Post-it notes
• Spiral notebooks, folders and notebook paper
• Scissors
• Highlighters
• Glue sticks
• Disinfectant wipes
• Facial tissue boxes and paper towels
• Ziploc bags
• Subject dividers
• Hand Sanitizer