A school supply drive has taken off with donors purchasing more than 1,000 items in support of Jasper students and teachers.
Jessie Smeall, Alberta Teachers’ Association local president for Evergreen 11, said that half her garage was full of Amazon boxes.
“This is the first time tackling something like this, and I am overwhelmed in an extremely positive way with the response that I received,” Smeall said.
Members of the public can purchase items on an Amazon Gift List, which will then be shipped off to Smeall, who will deliver these items to all three Jasper schools – École Jasper Elementary School, Jasper Junior/Senior High School and Francophone school École Desrochers.
Smeall got the idea from a Jasper teacher who was discussing with her colleagues how a school supply drive would help alleviate the stress of teachers, families and students returning to a wildfire-devastated town.
Many families are experiencing financial strain and Jasper schools won’t be opening until Sept. 17 since the buildings are undergoing a deep clean to remove all the soot and ash that got inside.
With such uncertainty, a school supply drive gives families and teachers one less thing to worry about.
The wish list was created from the top 10 items for each class teacher from Kindergarten to Grade 12.
Items include pencils, pens, erasers, reward stickers, bulletin boards, binders, highlighters and even Chromebooks.
Around 90 per cent of items are student materials and 10 per cent are for teachers.
With over 1,000 purchased items, Smeall had to organize a work party to sort them into like materials so they can be delivered to schools on Sept. 16 a day ahead of re-entry.
“The idea is this wish list is going to remain open as long as humanly possible as there’s been incredible uptake with it,” she said.
“I've been adding items based on teachers who would like to see their list grow because we've had such a positive response and now we've added cleaning supplies like Lysol wipes and sanitizer, Kleenex, those everyday materials that are going to get used as well.”
There is also the option of purchasing a gift card for teachers to buy items themselves after they have been in the school and find that they are missing some supplies.
Smeall reiterated that she was “absolutely floored” by the response.
“I have 16 colleagues who lost their residence, and to me, that's devastating because I'm one town over in Hinton and [everything I have is] safe,” she said.
“I have no idea what my colleagues are going through, but I can tell you that in discussion with them, they are overwhelmed and incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support from not only our own province but from beyond that, and it really means a lot to the staff, the students and the families.”
