Aila Boyd
aboyd@mainstreetnewspapers.com
Salem City Public Schools, Roanoke County Public Schools, Roanoke City Public Schools, and Craig County Schools have announced that they are teaming up with Roanoke area Walmart stores to Load the Bus. We’re collecting school supplies for students in need across the Roanoke Valley now through Virginia’s Tax-Free Weekend, Aug. 2-4.
School buses will be on site at Roanoke area Walmart stores:
- Friday, Aug. 2: 3–7 p.m.
- Saturday, Aug. 3: 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
- Sunday, Aug. 4: 12–6 p.m.
School officials are urging the public to come out to any of the Roanoke Valley Walmart stores (Bonsack, Clearbrook, Salem and Valley View) to donate school supplies for students who might not be able to afford the tools they need to be successful in school. “We will be collecting supplies at the registers and at bins in each store throughout the day,” they said.
Organizers said they will also be accepting donations of back to school supplies and/or monetary donations for students in need. Any money collected at the event will be used to purchase school supplies. Every item and every cent of donations will go to help students in need in the Roanoke Valley and beyond.
Needed supplies:
Organizers said the following items are needed: backpacks, glue sticks, notebooks, 3-ring binders, crayons, colored pencils, notebook paper (college and wide-ruled), pens, pencils, highlighters, rulers, folders, scissors and construction paper. Classroom items like tissues, hand sanitizer, printer paper and dry erase markers are also needed.
“Each year, thousands of children across the Roanoke Valley begin school without the supplies they need to be successful,” said Roanoke County Public Schools Acting Superintendent Dr. Ken Nicely. “Walmart is teaming up with area school systems to work together to provide the tools our children need in school. Every single donation will help a student learn and achieve, even as many families continue to recover from the effects created by the pandemic,” Nicely added.
“The entire community comes together each year to provide our students with what they need to succeed, allowing students across the region to start the school year on the right foot,” said Dr. Verletta White, Superintendent of Roanoke City Public Schools. “Load the Bus is yet another example of how ‘We Are One’ when it comes to supporting our students across the Roanoke Valley and knowing them by name, need, and strength.”
