Image source: Communities In Schools of Wayne County

RICHMOND, Ind. — Communities In Schools of Wayne County is asking the community to support local teachers through a new supply campaign aimed at providing classroom necessities beyond the traditional school supply list.

Christin Hampton, Development and Marketing Coordinator for Communities In Schools of Wayne County, said the organization’s goal is to remove barriers that prevent students from succeeding in school.

“Our mission is to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life,” Hampton said. “So essentially, we look at ourselves as an extra parent. A lot of times we'll refer to ourselves as a school mom or an aunt or somebody, and our job is to remove any barriers that a student might have that would keep them from graduating school or just succeeding in school in general.”

Those barriers can range from basic needs, such as snacks and hygiene items, to larger challenges involving housing or family situations.

“It could look like basic needs, a snack. It could look like housing for maybe mom and dad who lost their house, or some scenarios where like dad goes to jail and so we need to help mom out a little bit and so it's really an array of things that we do," Hampton said.

Communities In Schools has operated in Wayne County for 25 years and works directly with schools and families throughout the year. Hampton said no two days are the same for the organization.

“There's never one day that matches the next. There's always a new problem to solve.”

During the school year, the organization may help with anything from study groups to more serious situations involving outside agencies.

The teacher supply campaign began after the organization noticed that while students often receive support through community drives, teachers have fewer opportunities to receive help with classroom needs.

“We kind of just realized the abundance of generosity our community has towards students through a lot of various events,” Hampton said. “And we realized in conversations with our principals and our teachers that there's not too many drives specifically for them and they have needs outside of like your typical school supplies list of like pencils and pens and paper.”

Communities In Schools surveyed teachers in April and May to find out what supplies would be most useful. The campaign was publicly launched in early June, and donations are being accepted through July 24.

The most requested items include hygiene supplies, such as disinfecting wipes, sprays, tissues, deodorant, hair ties and soap. Teachers also requested classroom incentives, including small items that can encourage student participation.

Hampton said the organization is still especially in need of hygiene products, specifically Clorox wipes and sprays. She added that clothing donations are not currently a priority because the organization already has a large supply.

“We tend to get a lot of donations of clothes, which is fantastic. We just have an abundance of it right now,” she said.

Donations can be dropped off at five locations: Three Rivers Bank locations, including two in Richmond and one in Hagerstown; First United Methodist Church in Hagerstown; and the Communities In Schools office in Richmond.

The organization’s office accepts donations Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Hampton said larger donations can also be picked up by the organization.

“If it's hard for someone to get out to any of the locations, they can give us a call and we will schedule that pickup,” she said.

Community response to the campaign so far has been positive.

“It’s been great to see the support for teachers,” she said. “A lot of our supporters are retired teachers, so they've been very excited that we're focusing on the teachers.”

Hampton said supporting teachers also benefits students because it allows educators to focus more of their energy on the classroom.

“If the teachers are set up and ready…they can focus heavier on the students and the students obviously get to benefit from all the supplies that the teachers get,” she said. “So it's just kind of a domino effect for them.”

Beyond the supply campaign, Communities In Schools is also seeking volunteers to serve as mentors for students. Mentors spend about 30 minutes each week with a student during lunch, providing support and building relationships.

Hampton said mentors help students see that they have support beyond their immediate families.

“It’s just showing the student that they have a community that cares about them and just having those adults go in and volunteer just is more proof of that and shows the parents that they're also not alone, that they've got a true village to help raise their children,” she said.

For more information about the teacher supply campaign, volunteer opportunities or Communities In Schools of Wayne County, residents can visit the organization’s website.