By Laura Deans

Contributing columnist

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The Young Professionals Organization, a sub organization of the Clinton-Sampson Chamber of Commerce, is gearing up for our very first community service event as we “unite for total community development.” We are proud to announce that we have a group of passionate young professionals in our community that are thriving to help our local schools. The Young Professional’s “Back to School Bash,” sponsored by Ribeyes of Clinton, will be on Saturday, Aug. 29, located on the newly renovated patio at Ribeyes. From 2-5 p.m., the Young Professionals will be gathered to collect school supplies from our community in order to distribute to our local school systems. While making sure we are sticking to our mission of the service project of ensuring that children and teachers are prepared to learn, teach and succeed by providing free school supplies, there will be family friendly games, activities, and much more.

Collect supplies for schools! You can help children and teachers in our local schools by giving them the tools they need to succeed. There are many great reasons to get involved with the Young Professionals “Back to School Bash” service project as we are working towards our organizations mission of “connecting young professionals, engaging within the community and advancing in leadership development to be the leaders of tomorrow.” You are guaranteed to feel great about ensuring that children start the school year with the tools they need to succeed. You will be helping teachers by providing them with proper tools for their classrooms so they don’t have to spend money from their own pockets. Lastly, by providing school supplies, you are supporting students, teachers and your local schools.

Are you wondering what you can donate? Here is a list of general supplies that are always needed:

  • Paper: lined paper, copy paper, construction paper, spiral notebooks, composition books, index cards
  • Pencils & Pens: blue or black pens, No. 2 pencils, colored pencils, erasers, pencil sharpener, pencil case, colored markers, crayons, highlighters, dry-erase markers
  • General Supplies: dry-erase boards, paper clips, 3-ring 2” binders, pocket folders, report covers
  • Classroom staples: stapler, staples, rulers, protractors, glue sticks, scissors, tape, calculator
  • Things you can never have too much of: tissues, sanitizing wipes, hand sanitizer

Whether you are a member of the Young Professional organization, an individual looking to help the local schools succeed with the appropriate tools, or a local business wanting to get involved, we will need to reach out to all our members of the community in order to make this school supply drive a success. So go ahead and recruit your family, work colleagues, neighbors and others in our community. Stay connected and updated with the Young Professionals “Back to School Bash” by contacting the Chamber at 910-592-6177, www.clintonsampsonchamber.org or follow the Chamber on Facebook www.facebook.com/clintonsampsonchamber for the latest updates.

Laura Deans is executive director of the Clinton-Sampson Chamber of Commerce.