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SUNNY Temp: 41 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Thursday, November 28, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend August 26, 2002 Needy children to get free supplies St. Vincent DePaul provides students from low-income homes with classroom tools By JONEL ALECCIA Mail Tribune As comfortable families across Jackson County stock up on crayons and calculators before the new school year begins, one Medford program is making sure poor students also receive classroom supplies. Starting today, St. Vincent DePaul expects to distribute more than 1,000 bags of school supplies to low-income children throughout the region. That’s more than ever before in the program that started a decade ago, said Bill Schueller of the Medford nonprofit agency. "These kids come to school with no pencils and no paper," said Schueller. "We’re trying to start them out with what the kid next to them gets, or as close to it as possible." Children in kindergarten through high school whose families meet federal poverty guidelines are eligible for the program. Each child receives a bag filled with 14 to 15 items, including binder paper, spiral notebooks, crayons, pencils, paints and other classroom necessities. Kids in fourth through sixth grades get solar calculators to help with math, and students in grades seven through 12 receive scientific calculators. The average value of each bag has been $20, said Schueller, who distributed about 900 supply sacks last year. This year, however, the average value of the bags is about $28, thanks to a cooperative arrangement by the Eugene-based Bi-Mart Corp., which granted St. Vincent De Paul discounts that amounted to $11,000 off the costs of supplies. "I was truly amazed at what they did for us," Schueller said. Steve Maggard, manager of the Bi-Mart store on Jacksonville Highway, said the program is especially important this year. "Everybody knows about the budget cuts in the schools," he said. "It puts more pressure on the families to come up with supplies." Funding for the school supply project, expected to cost about $33,000 this year, comes from a range of local grants, donations and fund-raisers. Donors included the Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Tribe of Indians, the Gordon Elwood Foundation, the Wells Fargo Foundation, the Joe and Francis Naumes Family Fund, the Friendship Club, the Women of the Moose and the Junior League of Jackson County. The St. Vincent DePaul program is the only regional effort to ensure that low-income kids have access to school supplies, Schueller said. It started in 1991, when a mother came to the agency in the fall, worried that she couldn’t afford to buy classroom supplies. The next year, a few more parents sought supplies, and volunteers decided to expand the back-to-school program. "Poverty levels in Jackson County still exceed the state average, and low wages add to the burdens of struggling parents," Schueller said. "The issue of school supplies can be expensive for poverty-level families with several children." A family of four, for example, can make no more than $18,100 annually to qualify for the program. Distribution will be from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. today through Thursday at the agency, 2424 N. Pacific Highway, Medford. Families must bring proof of low-income status, a picture identification of the applicant and social security numbers of parents and students. The program is not open to home-schoolers or to people without valid U.S. citizenship documents, Schueller said. Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy webmaster feedback A D V E R T I S E R S