United Way Organizing ‘Literacy Kit Kickoff’ to Support Area Students on Aug. 3-5

It can be easy to forget that not every child has easy access to all the school supplies they need to be a success at school. Luckily there are several organizations in our area that are working to make sure that no student is left out. The United Way is just one organization and they’re making it super easy for those of us in this neighborhood.

Details from United Way:

Over Virginia’s sales tax holiday on Aug. 3-5, United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg will host its annual Literacy Kit Kickoff at stores across the region. United Way staff and volunteers will collect materials for literacy kits, which will be distributed to local students for the 2018-19 school year to support early childhood literacy.

United Way is collecting and assembling 1,500 literacy kits as part of the campaign. Each kit includes school supplies (such as pencils, glue sticks, crayons, notebooks etc.), an age-appropriate book and information for parents.

Since the Literacy Kit Kickoff event falls during Virginia’s sales tax holiday, people can purchase supplies for donations tax-free.

People can drop off supplies for kits at the following locations:

• Walmart at 6920 Forest Avenue (Richmond)
  • Aug. 3, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
  • Aug. 4, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
  • Aug. 5, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

• Walmart at 14501 Hancock Village Drive (Chesterfield)
  • Aug. 3, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
  • Aug. 4, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
  • Aug. 5, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

• Walmart at 145 Hill Carter Parkway (Ashland)
  • Aug. 4, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

• Sam’s Club at 735 Southpark Boulevard (Colonial Heights)
  • Aug. 4, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
  • Aug. 5, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

“We know that a strong literacy foundation and early learning are critical to ensuring kids are ready for kindergarten and reading at a grade-level by third grade,” said James Taylor, president and CEO of United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg. “The simple act of giving school supplies represents a big investment in our communities, because it helps ensure students are prepared and ready to succeed in school. We hope everyone in the community will donate supplies to a Literacy Kit Kickoff site this weekend.”

Last year, United Way announced Steps to Success, a new strategic framework aimed at empowering individuals and driving comprehensive, systems-wide change. Steps to Success focuses on nine pillars that help people overcome barriers to prosperity and provides the greater community an opportunity to contribute to specific areas of impact. United Way’s literacy kit campaign addresses two of the pillars: Prepared for Kindergarten and Grade-Level Reading by 3^rd Grade.

In addition to donating supplies during the Literacy Kit Kickoff, United Way is looking for volunteers to help collect, sort and count donations at drop-off sites.

Supporters also can organize their own literacy kit drives by recruiting friends and colleagues. United Way provides literacy kit drive hosts with flyers, sample emails, social media posts and other helpful resources. An informational meeting for people interesting in hosting a literacy kit drive will take place on Aug. 21 from 6-7 p.m. at the Barnes & Noble at 11500 Midlothian Turnpike in Chesterfield.

The entire literacy kit campaign will run through March 22, 2019. For more information, visit https://www.yourunitedway.org/host-literacy-kit-drive/.