In the classroom, all children should be equal.
But when reality sets in, about a third of all students can’t afford to bring the proper supplies to school. For the past 15 years office-supply giant Staples has been doing its best put everyone on a level playing field.
Through a carefully orchestrated campaign each year, the company, through its staff and customers, has been collecting donations and on Monday turned the proceeds over to representatives at a pair of local schools.
It’s the right thing to do, said Grade 8 student Sharran Sekhon, a student at Sir Winston Churchill Elementary Public School.
“That way people who don’t have their own school supplies can use the school’s,” Sharran said.
“That way everyone has equal opportunity.”
Eleven-year-old Chelsea Hardy agreed.
“It’s important to raise money to buy school supplies for students because everyone should have an equal chance to actually do things in school,” the St. Thomas Aquinas School Grade 6 student said.
Staples general manager Pasquale Coccimiglio said in total the campaign raised $4,000, which was split between the two schools.
The effort also included a partnership with St. Thomas Aquinas Church, who provided additional school supplies.
The campaign reaches its height during back-to-school season, and is partnership with the Kiwanis Club of Thunder Bay.
Coccimiglio said it’s easy for parents and children to lose sight of the fact so many students are in need, which is why the campaign has survived so long.
“We assume that everyone can afford to come back-to-school shopping and get everything they need, but studies show that about one-in-three actually don’t have what they need,” he said.
“Secondly, one-in-11 Canadians, which is three million-plus, live in poverty in our country. There are some things maybe some of us take for granted at back-to-school time.
“This is a reminder that there is a need out there and it’s part of what we do as a company to try to support that need.”
