MANSFIELD — United Way of Richland County and School Specialty have joined forces for the upcoming school year.
From Aug. 8 to 19, the two entities will launch an online giving platform through GoFundMe for each of the county’s 28 elementary schools. The fundraising pages are designed to allow the general population to donate funds that will be used to purchase school supplies throughout the 2016-17 school year.
For every $100 donated, School Specialty has pledged to match the donation. At the conclusion of the fundraising campaign, School Specialty will donate $1,000 to each elementary.
“This will ensure that elementary students in the area have the exact supplies they need as they start the school year,” read a press release issued by United Way.
School Specialties Incorporated, a Wisconsin-based company with a warehouse location in Mansfield’s industrial park, is a distributor of school supplies, furniture and other educational resources.
According to United Way Executive Director Dan Varn, the idea sparked when members from both entities recognized a need in surrounding schools as it related to school supplies.
“We recognize the need is great, with student supply lists continuing to grow each year and educators all too often spending their own money to meet the basic supply needs of their young learners,” Varn said. “We’re hoping more of the community helps out with donations. We’re reaching out to folks no longer in school — the goal is to have teachers not have to buy supplies for their kids.”
Varn said the GoFundMe pages will allow teachers and parents to provide a list of supplies needed for the classroom. That list will then be made available to each school’s principal to make the purchases through School Specialty.
Madison Local Schools District Superintendent Lee Kaple looks forward to utilizing the resource.
“This is fantastic,” Kaple said of the partnership during a press conference Wednesday. “Each school year, it’s hard to determine the individual needs of each building. This will help us do that.”
Varn said the partnership between the two local entities is unique.
“This will be a huge win for our community. It’s a great and unique opportunity and to the best of my knowledge, nothing like this exists. It’s an awesome program throughout our community,” Varn said.
School Specialty Human Resources Manager Tim Dove hopes the program will continue through the years.
“This is brand new, so we’re trying it out and we’ll welcome the opportunity if it comes,” Dove said of making the fundraising campaign annual.
Links to the GoFundMe pages will be available through United Way of Richland County and School Specialty on Monday, Aug. 8. Log on at https://www.gofundme.com/m/UnitedWay-Richland.
