ELIZABETHTOWN — A Greenville-based organization is supplying Bladen County students with supplies for the school year.
On Thursday, the Goodwill Foundation, based in Durham and working out of a Greenville office, will be travelling to Elizabethtown to hand out free school supplies to elementary students.
“We’re happy to be able to come back and do this in Bladen County,” said Stephenie McLean, director of regional community development for Goodwill Foundation. “The need is definitely there, and the community has been very receptive.”
The outreach continues the Foundation’s work in Bladen County.
“We’ve been coming to Bladen County for the last three years, and parents have consistently asked for it, so we try to do as much as we can to get supplies in the hands of those who need them most,” McLean explained.
Bags filled with composition books, hand sanitizer, glue, pencils, erasers, crayons, scissors, and rulers will help children get a jump-start on the school year.
“Our bags are definitely geared to elementary-school-aged children,” McLean commented. “That’s our sweet spot.”
Goodwill is planning on bringing 180 bags, the number the organization went through last year, and they will be given out on a first-come, first-served basis until they run out. Students must be present to receive supplies.
The effort is part of Goodwill’s community outreach in eastern North Carolina. The 200 in Bladen County are part of the 10,000 bags that will be distributed in the region.
“This is made possible by the donations of gently used items,” McLean explained. “When people donate to Goodwill, we are able to sell the items and use the money to buy school kits like these and distribute them to people who need them.”
Goodwill will be at the Bladen County Public Library Main Branch, located on Cypress Street in Elizabethtown, at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Chrysta Carroll can be reached by calling 910-862-4163 or emailing ccarroll@s24515.p831.sites.pressdns.com.