Sieda Community Action accepting donations of school supplies

FAIRFIELD — Sieda Community Action is gathering donations of school supplies for local children who will be returning to the classroom this month.

Sieda serves seven counties in Southeast Iowa, including Jefferson County. Shelby Harris, Sieda Community Action Program Specialist in Jefferson County, said there’s still time to make a donation before school starts, but residents should act quickly, because the last day Sieda will accept donations of school supplies is Aug. 10.

The families that will receive school supplies are invited to pick them up from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 17 at the Sieda Jefferson County Resource Center at 2200 W. Jefferson Ave. in Fairfield. Eligibility to receive these items is based on heating assistance guidelines. For more information, call Sieda at 641-472-6140.

Harris said the items Sieda still needs include water colors, composition notebooks, colored pencils, markets, backpacks, scissors, highlighters and sticky notes. She said few donations have come through the door thus far, but several organizations have committed to dropping off supplies on Aug. 10, so she’s confident Sieda will meet its goal.

In 2020, Sieda distributed school supplies to 200 students in the county, and came close to that figure last year, too. The majority of the students served attend the Fairfield Community School District, but some attend other school districts in the area such as Pekin or Van Buren.

“If I have any supplies left over, I save them for next year,” Harris said.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com