Back to School

As teachers and students head back to school, they need help. You can help by donating school supplies and by volunteering in schools. Both teachers and students need school supplies (see Minnesota schools, hand sanitizer, and a lack of cash), and your help can make a big difference.

Donate school supplies

In Minneapolis, drop off school supplies at the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers (MFT) headquarters at 67 – 8th Avenue Northeast. They put everything on shelves and teachers come in to get material for their classrooms. According to the Minneapolis Public Schools Web site, “This can include (but it is not limited to) magazines, three-ring binders and other office supplies, file cabinets, fabric, mat board, and foam core.” Call the MFT at 612-529-9621.

CORRECTION: This article originally listed the MFT address as 67 — 8th Street Northeast. The correct address is 67 – 8th Avenue Northeast.

In St. Paul, one drop-off site is Golden Thyme coffee shop at 921 Selby Avenue (call 651-645-1340 for hours.)

Staples stores collect school supply donations at each store.

A national site lists more specific teacher requests, such as a classroom subscription to Scholastic Magazine or specific books. Search by city, and find requests from individual teachers at http://www.iloveschools.com

Some supplies are always needed and you can probably drop them off at any school office all year around: Kleenex or other facial tissue, hand sanitizers, pencils and pens, reams of copier paper.

Volunteer

St. Paul Public Schools list volunteer opportunities at http://fci.spps.org/volunteeropps.html

In Minneapolis, go to http://www.mpls.k12.mn.us and then type “volunteer” in the search box, which is located in the top banner logo.