In the hustle and bustle of nabbing deals and buying new clothes for the new school year, an often overlooked reality is that many kids are without the basic back-to-school necessities such as pens and pencils, notebooks, crayons, handwriting paper, watercolors, colored pencils, glue sticks, scissors, highlighters, plastic supply boxes, dividers, tissues, hand sanitizer and gallon-sized zip-top bags. To help give children the tools they need to succeed, St. Petersburg Lodge and its members donated supplies that were distributed to two neighboring schools, Azalea Elementary and Westgate Elementary. Each school received over $300 worth of school supplies which will go to teachers and students. Exalted Ruler, Dawn Elaine Lieber, said, “We know there are several families in these schools that have unfortunate financial needs and we just want to give the kids a good start. Something as simple as having school supplies really helps to make sure our kids are happy as they start the new school year.”
Yaritza Ramos, Family/Community Liaison, accepts school supply donations for Azalea Elementary from St. Petersburg Lodge from member Debby Schmid and Exalted Ruler, Dawn Elaine Lieber.
Fifth-grade teacher Tara McClintick is pictured with St. Petersburg Lodge members Debby Schmid and Dawn Elaine Lieber as they deliver school supplies from the lodge to Westgate Elementary.