As summer vacation winds down for Baltimore County Public Schools, the school system kicked off its annual school supply drive Monday.
Through Friday, Aug. 12, the school system will accept donations at drop-off locations throughout the county.
This is the second year the school system has hosted a supply drive, which is done in conjunction with the system's Education Foundation, according to spokeswoman Diana Spencer. The school system did not count how much was donated last year.
Last year, when goods were donated, teachers were able to visit the school system's warehouse and collect supplies they needed for their classrooms before the first day of school.
For Jonathan Krieger, the past school year was his first teaching sections of Project Lead the Way, a program that teaches computer modeling and the design process as a way to promote engineering. This year, he's teaching the program full-time.
The drive was helpful, Krieger said, as he was able to stock a supply of glue sticks, colored pencils and poster board in his classroom for the school year.
He said having the access to supplies serves as a time- and money-saver, putting teachers in a better position to be successful and make an impact on their students.
"All these things that are consumables, they run out," he said. "To have those stocked up in your classroom is a real nice treat."
The Education Foundation of BCPS Inc., is a nonprofit that raises money to support school programming. Its director, Deborah Phelps, said teachers often spend their own money to equip their classrooms, so the drive helps them, along with their students.
"We just want to make sure everyone goes to school prepared," she said.
This year, teachers will be able to visit a vacant storefront at the White Marsh Mall that has been donated to the school system as a temporary spot for teachers to pick up supplies they need, Spencer said.
The most needed items are colored pencils or markers, crayons, glue sticks, marble composition notebooks, pencils, pocket folders, socks and underwear, according to the school system.
Donations are accepted at:
•Any branch of the Baltimore County Public Library.
•Boscov's department store at the White Marsh Mall.
•Office Depot stores in Timonium, Reisterstown, Parkville, Lansdowne and Catonsville.
•The administration building or Building E of BCPS headquarters, 6901 N. Charles St., Towson, MD 21204.
In addition, the employees of SunTrust Bank, Merrill Lynch's Dulaney Center II location, Phillips Way in Finksburg, Whiteford, Taylor & Preston LLP, and The Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. are contributing to the drive. Other businesses and organizations also can join the drive by collecting donations from customers, employees and visitors. To participate in the supply drive, contact Spencer at 443-809-4243 or dspencer4@bcps.org.
The supply drive is part of the school system's "Back to School Involves You, Too!" campaign, which is in its third year.
"We don't just want to get kids and families excited about school opening," Spencer said. "We want the whole community to help get the kids off to a successful start."