Free School Supplies
Every August, most parents wish there was some sort of school supplies fairy, like a Labor Day Santa Claus, who can bring free school supplies to all the good, deserving boys and girls. There’s no way around the fact that students need to have certain supplies, and most schools have been forced to send a shopping list home with the students, the schools unable to provide supplies for thousands of students at a time. For a struggling family with more than one child, the task of providing all those supplies can seem daunting. Especially when it all starts to add up, and the children have a real knack for finding the most expensive items and insisting their lives are over if they can’t have them. But there isn’t a school supplies fairy, unfortunately. That means you have to get creative and make some hard decisions.
First, there are a few websites that offer free school supplies, though they’re mainly offering samples of a variety of products. You can seek these out to provide binders and maybe even pencils or paper. Second, some offices generate a decent amount of “office waste.” Basically, they might buy and use three ring binders for a presentation, and then never need to use those binders again. Do not ask offices for free office supplies, but do keep an eye out for items that might be trashed anyway and ask the appropriate person if you might have them. Third, there are nothing wrong with hand-me-downs and recycling items, like book bags.
Related Information:
There are ways to find free and reduced school supplies.
Free school supplies are rare but not impossible to find.
