As the CSRA gears up for a new school year, United Way is helping ease the burden of purchasing basic school supplies for families in need. We know that setting up students for success starts with adequate back- to- school supplies, so this year we’re making it even easier to participate. Two donation options are requested until July 23rd: both physical school supplies and online monetary donations. A list of the most-requested school supplies can be found at uwcsra.org.

“Our goal is to maximize student learning this year and every year, and we’re proud to step in once again to help families in need,” says Brittany Burnett, President & CEO of United Way of the CSRA.

All physical donations can be brought to The Kroc Center of Augusta on July 23rd from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. There, school supplies will to be sorted, labeled, counted, and loaded onto buses by local volunteers and sent to school districts in Richmond, Columbia, Burke, Jefferson, Lincoln, and surrounding counties across the CSRA. We’d like to thank our sponsors for supporting this year’s school supplies collection drive: ADP, WJBF NewsChannel 6 and the Giving Your Best partners, Solvay Specialty Polymers, South State Bank, University Health Care System, Beasley Media Group LLC, and The Augusta GreenJackets.

For those interested in supporting Stuff the Bus through a one-time, online donation this year, please visituwcsra.org/stuff-the-bus. Donations made online will be used to purchase school supplies and distributed to local school districts at a later date.

United Way of the CSRA works hard to ensure every single family has access to needed resources so that everyone has the opportunity to meet their goals, whatever they may be. With more than half of our community either living in poverty or living paycheck to paycheck, we are committed to Lead Families Forward throughout our region.

Leading Families Forward is our blueprint for lifting struggling families out of poverty. Our multi-step approach transforms lives from childhood to adulthood and beyond with the tools and resources for families to meet their full potential, regardless of zip code. Last year, we impacted the lives of more than 265,000 people in need. Our goal is to build upon this success by ensuring that all children, young adults, and families achieve their maximum potential through partnerships and investments so that we can continue to serve even more in the future.