Summer time, and the living is easy… for some. But there are families in the Nanaimo-Ladysmith School District who are already wondering how they are going to afford to send their kids to school.
With the 2016-17 school year just around the corner many local families, especially those with more than one child, are feeling the pinch.
“School supplies, clothing, shoes, school fees are expensive,” said Crystal Dennison, executive director of the Nanaimo-Ladysmith Schools Foundation (NLSF) recently.
That’s why the NLSF is holding its seventh annual ‘Stock the Lockers’ campaign, which aims to raise $50,000 to help local students whose families can’t afford the extra expense of school-related costs.
The three-week campaign kicks off at Staples’ North Nanaimo store, 6581 Aulds Road, on Thursday, August 11 at 10 a.m.
“Starting the school year off with the right supplies helps ensure that all students are able to come to school ready to learn,” says Dennison.
Poverty is very real among many students in the Nanaimo-Ladysmith School District, which historically has a high child poverty rate.
According to Dr. Paul Hasselback, Vancouver Island Health Authority’s medical health officer for the central region, of more than 13,000 students expected in schools this year, almost 3,000 will arrive with insufficient resources.
The needs are great, said Dennison, and she works closely with principals, teachers and school staff, who know which children need help.
Donations for the Stock the Lockers campaign are taken at the two Staples stores in Nanaimo, Coastal Community Credit Union branches, Ladysmith Credit Union and the two Country Grocer stores.
Contributions can also be made on-line through the foundation’s website: www.NLSF.ca.
Tax receipts will be issued by mail for donations over $20. For more information, please contact Dennison at 250-753-4074.