As August turns toward September, millions of children across the country are heading back to school, and that means a need for backpacks, notebooks, pencils and more school supplies. For one SIMOS Solutions recruiter in Wheeling, W. Va. that also meant an opportunity to help the community.
Kyla Miller joined forces with the Salvation Army in Wheeling to put together two dozen backpacks filled with spiral notebooks, folders, pencil bags, calculators, index cards, crayons, markers, glue and erasers. And it all started with a chance meeting in Target.
“I was in Target and ran into someone getting a large purchase of school supplies and I started talking to her,” Miller said.
That person turned out to be Goldie Long, who works with the local Salvation Army of Ohio County, W. Va.
“They had a school supply drive to stuff backpacks for local kids in need, so I dropped off the supplies I had purchased,” Miller said.
While she was unable to attend the first event, in which volunteers stuffed 70 elementary backpacks and 50 high schoolers backpacks, Miller returned to a second event with more donations to help stuff the 24 additional backpacks that would go to local children.
The rewarding event showed the power of connections in the area and Miller plans to continue working with the Salvation Army to get school supplies for those who need them.
“Raising donations like this is something I’ve done before with other social groups I’m part of,” she said. “The timing was perfect and I love being able to help people in my community.”
