Fellowship Cup seeking school supply donations

MT. PLEASANT - With summer winding down and students preparing to head back to school, Henry County nonprofit the Fellowship Cup is asking for school supply donations to support local families in need.

Fellowship Cup Executive Director Ken Brown said the nonprofit has held the school supply pick-up for more than 10 years and usually sees about 200 students come through for supplies. He expects just as many students this year.

The pickup will take place Monday, Aug. 17, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. School supply lists will be available. Families and students will be able to walk through what's available before purchasing any other supplies they may need.

The pickup is open to any Henry County families. No sign-up is required.

Brown hopes to get donations by Aug. 12 to better assess what else the nonprofit will have to purchase.

With the coronavirus pandemic, school supply lists are looking a little different from years past and include items like hand sanitizer and cleaning wipes. Brown noted there are a couple of newer items the nonprofit has fewer of including earbuds and certain calculators, which are generally more costly and the nonprofit does not buy in bulk.

'What I say is if parents are getting supplies, they can just buy extra and bring them here. It's basic school supplies like pens, pencils, erasers and notebooks,” Brown said.

The start of the school year also signifies the end of the Fellowship Cup's summer lunch program.

The last day of the program will be Aug. 10. This year, with health concerns surrounding the pandemic, the program changed its distribution methods. Instead of having children come pick up meals every day, parents were asked to retrieve weekly boxes.

'It went really well. When I've spoken to families, they really love it. They're getting more than enough food, and they like the idea of coming once a week instead of daily,” Brown said.

The weekly boxes have been a 'cost saving” for the nonprofit. As the summer wears on, participation usually drops off, Brown said. But with parents bringing the food home, there was a lot less food waste and participation stayed steady. At its peak, the program serves approximately 180 students a day.

'We're probably going to do it the same way, even despite COVID,” he said. 'We've seen success with the change in the program.”