As unemployment and the cost of living goes up, donations to charities go down. For families in need, that means school supplies may be harder to come by.
World Vision, a charity that helps children around the world, reports that donations for its annual school supply programs are way down.
In 2007 the organization helped roughly 41,000 school children by providing them with backpacks, pens, pencils, notebooks and other supplies. This year, as the economy continues to falter, that number will drop to 30,000 children. According to a press release:
At the World Vision Storehouse in New York City, backpack requests topped 16,000 this year, but just over a third of those in need will receive backpacks.
In Seattle, a faltering local economy has led to a 40% drop in backpacks for distribution.
In Los Angeles, more than 4,500 children are on waiting lists this year.
"School supplies may become luxury items for many families," says Phyllis Freeman, World Vision's Storehouse Director in Los Angeles. "The price of gas has affected families' budgets. The working poor will have a more difficult time this year. Parents are facing lay-offs or reduced salaries."
To help with donations, go to www.worldvision.org/schooltools.
Who knows what students need better than teachers? There are a couple of great Web sites where teachers can make requests for classroom items and you can fund a specific need. They're kind of like gift registries for specific classrooms.
Here are some stats to guilt you into giving, also from World Vision:
According to a recent study by National School Supply & Equipment Association, 94% of teachers buy supplies at their own expense, spending an average of $395 every school year. First-year teachers often spend more than $1,000 on supplies for students.
iloveschools.com lists eight requests from teachers in Torrance, three in Redondo Beach and 18 in Carson.
At Donorchoose.org, teachers write descriptions of projects they'd like funding for but can't get from their districts. You choose something near and dear to your heart and then fund all or part of it. For example, if you're a book lover, you might want to help Mrs. M in San Pedro get a set of books for her kindergarten class.
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