Project S.O.S. Is Back – and Local Kids Need Your Help

Embracing the Transition: From Summer to Back-to-School

I know that people who love summer are reluctant to let go of all things related to our sunshiny season, but to move successfully into the back-to-school season, you need to start planning now.

With that in mind, The Banquet would like to remind us that their Project S.O.S. is in full swing now and needs all of us in the community to step up and help.

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Dakota News Now is reporting that for around 30 years, The Banquet has been gathering school supplies for kids in the Sioux Empire. Project S.O.S., which stands for Supply Our Students, is taking registrations right now for families that would like free backpacks for their children.

In the first year of Project S.O.S., they distributed 60 backpacks; more recently, that number has grown to between 7,000 and 8,000 backpacks every year.

How You Can Help: Easy Donation Options

You can help fill those backpacks by stopping by any Lewis, Hy-Vee, or Walmart location in Sioux Falls and dropping off school supplies in the donation boxes you will find. It's as easy as grabbing a few items while you're shopping at those locations and giving on your way out the door.

Families can register through The Banquet's website, call The Banquet at 605-335-7066, or call the Helpline Center at 211.

Children must be present with their parent or guardian and have one form of ID (birth certificate, Social Security card, Medicaid card, passport, school ID, or library card) to receive a backpack. If the child is not present, a backpack won't be given out.

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Volunteers are also needed for Project S.O.S., and you can sign up online.

Here is the list of brand-new school supplies that are needed:

• LARGE BACKPACKS (with laptop sleeve):
  • Headstart/Kindergarten: Character Bags w/laptop sleeve
  • Grades 1-12: Classic laptop backpack
• Composition books (wide rule only, any solid color)
• 3 Ring Binder (2″-3″) or
  • Zipper/Velcro Binder for grades 6-8
• Spiral notebooks (1 subject, wide & college-ruled, any solid color)
• Loose Leaf Filler Paper (wide & college-ruled)
• Folders (2-pocket, with or without clasp, any solid color)
• Crayola Crayons (24 count)
• Crayola Classic Wide-Tip Markers (8-10 count)
• Colored Pencils (12 count)
• No. 2 pencils (plain)
• Scissors – Pointed 5” & 7”
• Rulers w/standard and metric
• Bottled Glue (white, 4 oz. bottle)
• Glue sticks: small and large
• Blue/Black/Red pens
• 4-packs of dry-erase markers
• Highlighters
• Erasers- Magic Rub or equal preferred

Monetary donations can go far, too. Just make sure that when you donate, you indicate you'd like it to go to school supplies. So pick the way you'd like to give, grab this list, and get busy shopping to help kids have a great back-to-school season!

Sources: Dakota News Now and The Banquet