Back-To-School Community Supply Drives 

Back-to-school time is coming up, which means it is not too soon to start thinking about school supply shopping. Several neighborhood organizations are asking residents to consider purchasing a few extra supplies to give back to the community. The neighborhood organizations help provide students with clothing, food and school supplies so that every child has a strong chance to succeed in the coming school year.

Here are a few back-to-school drives happening:

New Pathways for Youth 

When: Now – July 5
Where: 1001 E. Pierce St., Phoenix – SE corner of Pierce and 10th. Contact Mary Beth Gregory at [email protected] to arrange a drop-off time.
Needs: Blue/black pens, #2 pencils, highlighters, crayons, backpacks, scissors, 3-ring binders, tablets and folders, etc.
For more information: npfy.org

Boys Hope Girls Hope 

When: Now – August 9
Where: Donations can be dropped off at the Boys Hope Girls Hope office, 3443 N. Central Ave., Arcade 7, Phoenix.
Needs: Graph composition notebooks, college-ruled loose-leaf paper, graph paper, dry erase markers, highlighters, folders, mechanical pencils and lead, Post-it notes, subject dividers, USB drives, etc.
For more information: BHGHAZ.org

The Salvation Army: Backpack SOS 

When: July 9 – July 27
Where: All Fry’s food stores in Arizona and Bank of Arizona in the Phoenix Metro area.
Needs: Backpacks, folders, pens, pencils, paper, glue, rulers, crayons, markers, erasers, spiral notebooks, loose leaf paper and scissors, etc.
For more information: salvationarmyphoenix.org

St. Vincent DePaul

This year St. Vincent DePaul is running a virtual drive for school supplies through Amazon Wish List. The virtual drive will help to include Arizona’s winter visitors as well as locals still braving the heat.

When: Now – July 8
Where: Online. Donations are shipped directly to St. Vincent’s, 420 W. Watkins Road, Phoenix. SVDP asks that donations be made through AmazonSmile instead of the basic Amazon.com. Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice.
Needs: Backpacks, loose leaf paper, graphing calculators, notebooks, Post-its, scissors, index cards, highlighters, glue, folders, markers, etc.
For more information: stvincentdepaul.net

Back-to-school Clothing Drive – Volunteer Opportunity 

When: July 22 – 26
Where: Grand Canyon University Antelope Performance Center, 3300 W. Camelback Road, Phoenix.
Needs: Volunteers to help fill backpacks with school supplies. There are three shift options available: 7 a.m.-noon, noon-5 p.m. and 5-8 p.m.
For more information: backtoschoolclothingdrive.com

City of Scottsdale Back-to-School Program 

When: Now – July 24
Where: Donations can be dropped at Vista Del Camino Center, 7700 E. Roosevelt St., Scottsdale; Monday – Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Needs: Large backpacks, 3-ring binders, markers, pens, pencils, notebooks, paper, etc.
For more information: scottsdaleaz.gov

Dollar Tree Back To School Brigade

When: Through August 5^th
Where: Dollar Tree store locations
Needs: backpacks and school supplies to benefit local military families
For more information: https://www.dollartree.com/operation-homefront

TruWest School Supply Drive

For many kids, heading back to school means a new backpack, fresh notebooks and a shiny box of crayons. But for children in the foster care system, starting a new school year can present a variety of challenges, including not having the basic supplies to set them up for success. TruWest Credit Union is hosting its Back-to-School Supply Drive to provide items to help local children be better prepared for the upcoming school year. From now until August 16, TruWest is collecting school supplies at its eight branch locations and headquarters, with donations benefiting Helen’s Hope Chest, a nonprofit that supports Arizona’s foster families.

When: Through August 16th
Where: TruWest 8 Branches
For more information: https://truwest.org/school-supply-drive

Some suggested Back-to-school supply items are:
Backpacks
Spiral notebooks
Pencil boxes
Scissors
Glue sticks
Pencils
Pens
Colored Pencils
Filler paper
Crayons
1” binders
Pocket folders
Rulers
Dictionaries