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SHEBOYGAN, WI (WHBL) - What started with 50 kids nearly 20 years ago has grown to over 17-hundred waiting several hours to get the school supplies they need.
The Sheboygan Optimist Club is having their annual Back 2 School Basics event for Sheboygan Area School District students this Saturday from 8 to 11 a.m. at Longfellow Elementary.
Organizer John Koehler tells WHBL News every student who comes will get the same grade-appropriate supplies, no matter when you come. "So we really want to discourage families from showing up before six in the morning; that would be the very earliest anyone needs to get there, but the door’s won’t open until 8."
The supplies come from a fundraising effort, which this year collected 12-thousand dollars from businesses and individuals, which are then spent on the supplies.
Koehler credits the work of the committee that runs this program for doing their homework, contacting donors, and making sure they have the right amount of supplies. "So if we have 300 kindergarteners, we know next year that more than likely we’ll have 300 first graders, so we’ll know to order more crayons or markers."
In the past, the Optimist would run a “Stuff the Bus” campaign to collect school supplies for the program.
This was the first year that this was not held. It came after the Memorial Mall, which has allowed the bus to be placed, ended its support. The PGA did offer a place for the bus to be placed on the grounds of Whistling Straits, but later backed out.
Koehler says this shows the shift in the program’s focus, rather having people donate cash. “As a committee, we’ve really decided that we really like to hand out the same supplies, whether you’re the first person or number 17-hundred.”
Nonetheless, Koehler says if someone does donate supplies they will accept them. That is why this year every student will receive a toothbrush and an age-appropriate book donated for the program.
