It's summer day camp at Carson City's Salvation Army. 36 kids are getting some lessons in the rules of life from Lt. Mark Cyr. He knows a tough financial challenge for their parents is looming…he has 4 kids of his own. He told us that in his household, "Back to school costs quite a bit. I would say in the hundreds. 4 kids, and we pay in the hundreds for school supplies."
Children may be nervous about going back to classes, but their parents are even more stressed as they consider the cost of buying the back-to-school basics. The Salvation Army there knows it's going to be tough this year. More calls for help are coming earlier than ever from parents who can't come up with a fast $100 or more.
The added stress to parents is, a lot of these items used to be provided by the schools. I remember when I went to school…the scissors were provided. So was the Kleenex, the crayons, the pencils, the glue and the paper. Today, the Salvation Army's Christina Argust says schools "Are asking for anti-bacterial wipes, they're asking for hand sanitizer. They're asking for highlighters, dry erase markers, rulers, calculators...all kinds of stuff, not just your basic pens, pencils and paper anymore."
So for the first time, the Carson City Salvation Army is putting out collection barrels, like the one we saw at Grandma Hattie's restaurant on South Carson St., asking for new notebooks, calculators, dictionaries, pens and pencils…backpacks, paper, crayons, rulers and calculators, three-ring binders, protractors and folders.
They are all seemingly small things that could make all the difference for kids like the ones we met in Lt. Cyr's summer day camp class. By the time school is about to begin, he thinks Carson City will come through. "If I'm wrong, we may have to turn some kids away. But we don't want to have to turn away any children this year."
If you're a parent in Carson City who needs help, the Salvation Army at 661 Colorado St. is taking signups beginning July 30th. You'll need ID's, proof of income and address.
As for donating, here's the list of where the barrels are out in Carson City:
-Salvation Army, 661 Colorado Street
-Bank of America, 947 Topsy Lane
-Grandma Hattie's Restaurant, 2811 S. Carson St.
-Les Schwab Tire Centers, 3020 S. Carson St., and 3219 N. Carson St.
-Greater Nevada Credit Unions, 451 Eagle Station Lane, and 4131 N. Carson St.
-written by John Potter, Channel 2 News
