Boxes of school supplies to help 6,000 local students

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh-based community organizations have partnered to get school supplies to students.

The United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania and First National Bank teamed up on Thursday to collect and sort school supply boxes for children in need. It was part of the nonprofit’s first-ever “Tools for Schools” event.

Volunteers gathered at Heinz Field, unloading and sorting various supplies, including pencils, crayons, notebooks, paper and hand sanitizer.

The supply boxes created will be handed out to 250 elementary school teachers in Allegheny, Butler and Westmoreland counties. Each box has enough supplies to help at least 25 students.

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Organizers said the tools could make a huge difference, as many parents are struggling to pay their bills and can’t afford school supplies during the pandemic.

“We see that 90% of teachers are buying supplies for their own classroom and, especially in this day and age with COVID, we know that it’s very challenging times, so we as the United Way want to supply those teachers,” Wendy Koch, United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s director of volunteer engagement, said.

More than 6,000 students will benefit from the supply drive.

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