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PERE MARQUETTE TOWNSHIP — Walmart has partnered with the Mason County Sheriff’s Office school resource officers (SROs) to collect school supplies for local students and educators ahead of the new school year.
Donated supplies will be divided among area school resource officers and distributed to the schools they serve.
“Most of our SROs are entering their fourth school year,” said Sgt. Adam Lamb, commander of the SRO unit. “One thing we have consistently seen is the need for certain supplies among our schools, teachers and students. We hope this campaign will help meet some of those needs before the school year begins.”
The partnership began when Walmart approached the sheriff’s office with the idea of holding a school supply drive.
“When Walmart approached me with the idea, I was excited to jump on board and help,” Lamb said. “Our schools already provide so much to their students and our community, and the other SROs and I saw this as another opportunity to lend a hand.”
Lamb said several law enforcement agencies and community organizations already provide programs aimed at helping local children and families. Those include the Ludington Police Department SRO’s Pie Auction before Thanksgiving and Shop with a Cop before Christmas, as well as Staircase Youth Services’ Back-to-School Backpack Bonanza each August.
“These are wonderful programs, but we felt there was still more we could do,” Lamb said.
School administrators were contacted to determine which supplies teachers and students need most at the beginning of the school year. Because backpacks are already provided through another local program, administrators identified pencils, crayons, rulers, erasers, glue sticks, markers, notebooks, facial tissues and construction paper as priority items.
Mason County Eastern Superintendent Paul Shoup has also donated the use of a school bus for Saturday’s collection event.
“I also want to thank Mason County Eastern Superintendent Paul Shoup for graciously donating one of his buses to be on site this Saturday to collect donations,” Lamb said.
Members of the public can visit area school resource officers at Walmart from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22, to donate supplies.
Those unable to attend Saturday’s event can place donations in collection boxes inside Walmart from Friday, Aug. 21, through Sunday, Aug. 23.
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