ONTARIO — Keith Strickler didn’t know for sure what was in the brown cardboard boxes, stacked high and wrapped securely on a dozen pallets in the bus garage.
“It’s kind of Christmas morning,” the superintendent of Ontario Local Schools mused.
Ontario Local Schools received a truck full of donated school supplies Friday morning from School Specialty.
For the last five years, the company has coordinated with Spherion Mid Ohio to randomly select a high school student from its summer workforce and donated a truckload of supplies to their district.
Previous winners have been students from Madison, Crestview, Lexington and Mansfield City Schools.
“When I got the email and we started looking into it, we were really excited about the donation,” Strickler said.
“But I think what makes me the most happy about was the reason that we won — that our kids have been provided with jobs and working over the summer, getting all that experience.”
Strickler said it can be hard for high school students to find summer jobs, especially in retail – where the seasonal workforce tends to swell around the holidays.
But for School Specialty, the months before a new academic year are when business is busiest.
The company employed 101 area teens this summer in collaboration with Spherion Mid Ohio. Thirteen were Ontario students.
“Our students are definitely what make our business successful in the summer,” said Eve Brady, senior HR business partner for School Specialty.
“This is one of our favorite events of the year,” Brady added. “It’s an opportunity to celebrate our students and it’s a way for us to give back to the community.”
Brady said the pallets included a variety of items for students of all ages and abilities. There were hundreds of crayons, rolls of paper, a box of graphing calculators.
There were sensory items and supplies geared toward students with special needs.
Middle school vice principal Jordyn Eckert said the physical education items will come in handy during outdoor recess. Art supplies will allow teachers to get creative with hands-on learning.
“Sometimes finding certain supplies for different projects can be tricky,” she said. “This could open up a lot of new opportunities.”
