Kiwanis-Staples School Supply Drive (K-S SSD)

Part 2. Distribution of Donations - Ideas and Examples : 

Any community organization that has a mandate to work with children and youth may be an excellent candidate for distribution of donations raised during the KS-SSD campaign. 

In general, we recommend that clubs provide “goods” not Gift Cards to your Community Partner recipient. Some Popular methods of distribution are:

• Take the School Principal on a shopping trip

• Backpacks filled with School Supplies Projects

• Class room Computer or companion product project

• See what other clubs offer

Social service providers are an effective screen of the needs of clients they serve and they provide a means of transferring supplies to those in need. 

Kiwanis Club Actions include:

• Develop contacts with social service provider(s) which may be found in:

  • Food Banks 

  • Women's shelters

  • Supported housing groups, etc.

• Purchase of school supplies including backpacks is a great hands-on activity for members.  Purchasing can be spread among contributing Staples stores or can be in bulk at one store if better pricing is available.  If filling the backpacks is required, note that requirements are different for different ages/grades. Backpack filling is a perfect time for Kiwanis members to work directly with members of the SSP.

• Delivery/presentation of backpacks or school supply support in any form should be accompanied by photos of Kiwanis members with the SSP recipients.  These should be uploaded with enthusiastic comments to FB or other social media.  

Computers for educational use projects

Clubs working with local Schools Boards, Schools and agencies, often have companion projects that compliment program basics. 

Strategies for when you make purchases and when you distribute items to your community partners

Some Clubs opt to spend the portion of money collected by Staples in the first two weeks of August immediately by receiving a Mid-Campaign Distribution while other clubs accumulate them and spend in larger programs the following year when perhaps greater member involvement can occur. (This may affect your VOTE on the Mid-Campaign Distribution question in the Google Response Form. )