a question about bringing school supplies

[St. Anthony's Kitchen]

Bless you for wanting to bring school items, they are needed by many! St. Anthony's Kitchen has a programme called Get Kids to School (GKTS) and there are many children needing various items.

Our Top Ten List (from Fadder Jimaica):

Money (for the Kitchen—the ongoing need to purchase food & supplies never ends—the Kitchen itself costs about USD$5,000/month to operate)
Children ages 4-12, boys & girls:

- underwear
- socks (black & brown)
- school shoes (black & brown)

Hygiene items (toothpaste, brushes, soap, etc.)

School supplies:
pencils, pens, crayons, notebooks, erasers, rulers, lined paper, back packs/book bags, etc
Children’ toys/games (Christmas is coming)

Flip flops – all sizes (they call them slippers in JA)

Many thanks and blessings!
St. Anthony's Kitchen

[mamade11]

mamade11, funny time on you starting this thread. We just got back from buying a $8.00 suitcase at Savers and filling it with $80 of school supplies.....some soccer balls and jump ropes as well. "5 Below" has soccer balls for $5! Ive brought school supplies down for several years with only a few complaints....School kids need the safety rounded tip scissors and pencils/colored pencils need sharpeners.....bought 30 sharpeners tonight for $3.

Also, reach out to St Vincent's soup kitchen to see what they need for the kids. As of this afternoon it was black socks and black belts.....

Oh and bless yah for thinking of bringing stuff!

Eco - funny story on pencils. The first time I brought supplies I took a bunch of pencils and colored pencils. When I gave them to the person taking me to the school - they asked where the sharpeners were! Oops, not I always bring sharpeners.

I like all of your ideas - I never thought of 5 below and have one 5 minutes away! Thanks for your additional ideas.

[mamade11]

Bless you for wanting to bring school items, they are needed by many! St. Anthony's Kitchen has a programme called Get Kids to School (GKTS) and there are many children needing various items.

Our Top Ten List (from Fadder Jimaica):

Money (for the Kitchen—the ongoing need to purchase food & supplies never ends—the Kitchen itself costs about USD$5,000/month to operate)
Children ages 4-12, boys & girls:

- underwear
- socks (black & brown)
- school shoes (black & brown)

Hygiene items (toothpaste, brushes, soap, etc.)

School supplies:
pencils, pens, crayons, notebooks, erasers, rulers, lined paper, back packs/book bags, etc
Children’ toys/games (Christmas is coming)

Flip flops – all sizes (they call them slippers in JA)

Many thanks and blessings!
St. Anthony's Kitchen

St. Anthony's

My school supplies are spoken for But I think I can fit in some toothbrushes, paste and other items that I can bring over to you.
I so wish I could bring 5 suitcases!! Darn airlines!
I also like Smith's suggestions - I'm going to try to find some exercise books when we get there.

Is there a morning I could come over and maybe help with something?

[Eco]

Dollar tree has 10-20 sharpeners for a dollar..... Not sure how good they are yet. In reference to 5 below, I hate to donate crappy stuff but it's hard to figure out what is overpriced at normal stores and what is garbage.

More

[mamade11]

What I have been doing over the years - I am into coupons and clearance sales! Staples, CVS and Walmart run crazy specials and free items before school starts. Since my kids are older now, I do all of the sales and giveaways and save the stuff for my trips I usually have quite a nice stock pile by the time the next trip comes along.

[St. Anthony's Kitchen]

School supplies are always needed. There is no question that you can get many things much cheaper in the US (Dollar Tree, etc.) than here, especially when they have sales. Buying a bag and filling it with supplies is frequently done and you pay the cost. So it goes. And some folks like shopping for the goods and carrying them here--it's more personal, if you will! The other alternative is to shop here and some suggestions have been made as to where. If you are a tourist coming on vacation it is not always so easy to stop at Mega Mart in MoBay or some store in Lucea. You can always shop at Talrich here in Negril. They have lots of supplies. As was mentioned earlier, St. Anthony's Kitchen has a programme where we furnish supplies to children on a regular basis. We get donated items and we shop in Sav at Bashco. You can always give us the money and we will do the shopping for you--or we could even carry you to the store. Are we trustworthy? We are beyond reproach--ask anyone in Negril who knows us or works with us.

And if you are interested in helping children beyond a one time shot we would welcome your support. The start of the school year (September) is a big time for getting kids ready for school; uniforms, shoes, socks, underwear, school supplies, backpacks, books and so on--big expense for most families. Last year we helped outfit over 100 children for school and it's a big expense for us too. We do this solely through the help of benefactors. We would welcome your support. --Fadder Jim