With the school year coming to an end, you’re likely already thinking about what lies ahead in the Fall. Whether you’re an educator or a parent, those thoughts turn to what students will need in the coming school year.
Whether you’re thinking about boxed tissues, glue sticks or kids who need a little extra help, it’s not too early to start planning your next supply drive.
Step 1: Build your team
To get started, ask teachers and parents to get involved. Create a list of tasks and recruit others to help you with them. Assign tasks and create a due date to make sure everyone stays on track.
Step 2: Make a List and Set Goals
Take inventory of what you need and how much. This will help you avoid receiving too much of one thing and not enough of something else.
Create a toolkit for your participants that includes a list of needs and how to ask others to contribute.
It can be fun and helpful to have a theme for your supply drive. A theme such as Fill That Bus can inspire your participants, give you the ability to delegate and compartmentalize your campaign.
Set goals for what you want to collect, such as number of pencils donated or backpacks filled. Keep your participants and donors updated on your progress to keep them engaged and excited about your drive.
Step 3: Establish a drop-off location
Decide on a central drop-off location, such as the lobby of your school or partner with local establishments to host a drop-off bin.
Step 4: Make a deadline
Finally, decide when you want to conduct your supply drive and for how long. Choose your dates and let people know ahead of time that the drive is coming. As you get closer to the date of your supply drive, build a sense of excitement and urgency with updates on social media, through email and announcements to your students.
Let people know about your supply drive. Send a flier home, supply students and parents with simple copy and links to post on social media, and create a press release to distribute to local papers and blogs.
Once you launch your supply drive keep participants updated on your progress. Celebrate your wins, thank those who contribute and let them know what supplies you are still lacking.
As you approach your deadline, keep the excitement going with regular updates and increase your frequency as you approach the finish line.
Step 5: Let DollarDays Help
As you plan your supply drive, don’t forget that DollarDays offers low, wholesale pricing on over 500 backpacks, including 6 pre-filled backpacks, and discounts on bulk school supplies like pencils, notebooks and crayons.
If we don't have what you want, we'll go out and find it. Let our dedicated sales team will work with you to get you what you need at great prices and walk you through the shopping, checkout, and post-purchase process. With over 260,000 products on our site today, we're confident we can fulfill your requests.