BROKEN BOW – This season, the Salvation Army is helping to ring a bell of a different sort.
With the academic calendar set to unroll across Custer County in a mere two weeks, Julie Toline’s contingent has been hard at work making sure students, teachers, and administrators have all they need from first bell to dismissal and all periods in between.
The group held their annual backpack giveaway in the Municipal Building on Wednesday, anticipating outfitting 170 students with backpacks, pencils, pens, and all other conceivable supplies for the upcoming safari through knowledge’s vast jungle.
Additionally, the group raised money for all 6 of the area’s school districts, money that, according to Callaway Public Schools Superintendent Bryon Hanson, will come in wildly handy in a pinch.
“We sit down with our counselor and principals and put together some supplies that we know all kids need when they come back to school. That’s what we’ll use this money for, and when we see needs, we use this money to help address that.”
The money raised by the Salvation Army not only went directly into the pockets of the school districts, but helped support ongoing programs as well: the Weekend Backpack Programs for Broken Bow, Ansley, Sargent, Anselmo-Merna, and Taylor each received $1300.
A total of $1500 was raised for the Emergency Clothing programs for all 6 school districts in the county, and the Ansley Food Pantry received $750.
The Legion Auxiliary and Blaser family bolstered the Backpack Giveaway with school supply donations; every cent of the money raised for the county schools was through either annual bell ringing campaigns or the Cliff Luther Endowment Fund.
