The new school year is around the corner, and some students in the district's elementary and middle schools are in need of assistance with supplies to complete their school work.
Project School Days, now in its 12th year, is a nonprofit volunteer organization that fills requests from teachers for their students that need school materials.
Requested supplies range from crayons, pens and pencils to notebooks, dictionaries, backpacks and calculators.
"In this year of great economic difficulty we are expecting many more families to need our help," said project organizer Marilyn Malkmus. "A generous community makes this project possible by donating money that is used to purchase supplies or by collecting and donating school supplies. All the materials are donated to school children in Douglas County."
This year, elementary schools open on Aug. 19, and secondary schools on Aug. 24. The project's main distribution takes place the first week of September, but teachers may request supplies at any time during the school year.
"Last year, approximately 30 percent of the district's teachers participated in giving supplies to about 472 kids, 9.6 percent of the student enrollment," Malkmus said.
This year, she expects the number of kids in need to grow by 10 percent.
"People are certainly welcome to donate materials as well," Malkmus said.
Contributions to project school days are tax deductible. Checks may be mailed to: Project School Days, P. O. Box 5438, Gardnerville, NV, 89410.
For more information, call Malkmus at 782-4931.
